43 research outputs found

    Reactive Oxygen Species Production in Peripheral Blood Neutrophils of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients

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    Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as well as obesity is associated with increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Neutrophils produce great amounts of ROS. The aim was to evaluate peripheral blood neutrophils ROS production in men with OSA and to establish relations with disease severity and obesity. Methods. Forty-six men with OSA and 10 controls were investigated. OSA was confirmed by polysomnography (PSG), when apnea/hypopnea index was >5/h. Body mass index (BMI) was evaluated. Neutrophils were isolated from peripheral blood in the morning after PSG. Dihydrorhodamine-123 was used for ROS detection. Data is presented as median (25th and 75th percentiles). All subjects were divided into four groups: nonobese mild-to-moderate OSA, obese mild-to-moderate OSA, nonobese severe OSA, and obese severe OSA. Results. Neutrophil ROS production was higher in nonobese severe OSA group compared to nonobese mild-to-moderate OSA (mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) 213.4 (89.0–238.9) versus 44.5 (20.5–58.4), P<0.05). In obese patient groups, ROS production was more increased in severe OSA compared to mild-to-moderate OSA group (MFI 74.5 (47.9–182.4) versus 31.0 (14.8–53.8), P<0.05). It did not differ in the groups with different BMI and the same severity of OSA. Conclusion. Increased neutrophil ROS production was related to more severe OSA but not obesity

    Massive hemoptysis due to anastomosis between the left phrenic artery and pulmonary arteries/veins

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    Massive hemoptysis is a serious medical condition or emergency which needs immediate treatment. It typically appears in the bronchial arteries and can be caused by a wide range of pulmonary diseases. This report is based on a very rare case of a patient bleeding from an anastomosis between the left phrenic artery and pulmonary arteries/veins. In this case, the chest computed tomography had detected changes which required doctors to perform a successful embolization

    Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension phenotypes determined by cluster analysis from the COMPERA registry

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    Funding Information: Marius M. Hoeper has received fees for lectures and/or consultations from Acceleron, Actelion, Bayer, MSD, and Pfizer. Nicola Benjamin has received fees for lectures and/or consultations from Actelion. Ekkehard Grünig has received fees for lectures and/or consultations from Actelion, Bayer, GSK, MSD, United Therapeutics, and Pfizer. Karen M. Olsson has received fees for lectures and/or consultations from Actelion, Bayer, United Therapeutics, GSK, and Pfizer. C. Dario Vizza has received fees from Actelion, Bayer, GSK, MSD, Pfizer, and United Therapeutics Europe. Anton Vonk-Noordegraaf has received fees for lectures and/or consultation from Actelion, Bayer, GSK, and MSD. Oliver Distler has/had a consultancy relationship with and/or has received research funding from 4-D Science, Actelion, Active Biotec, Bayer, Biogen Idec, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma, BMS, ChemoAb, EpiPharm, Ergonex, espeRare foundation, GSK, Genentech/Roche, Inventiva, Lilly, medac, MedImmune, Mitsubishi Tanabe, Pharmacyclics, Pfizer, Sanofi, Serodapharm, and Sinoxa in the area of potential treatments of scleroderma and its complications including pulmonary arterial hypertension. In addition, Prof Distler has a patent for mir-29 for the treatment of systemic sclerosis licensed. Christian Opitz has received fees from Actelion, Bayer, GSK, Pfizer, and Novartis. J. Simon R. Gibbs has received fees for lectures and/or consultations from Actelion, Bayer, Bellerophon, GSK, MSD, and Pfizer. Marion Delcroix has received fees from Actelion, Bayer, GSK, and MSD. H. Ardeschir Ghofrani has received fees from Actelion, Bayer, Gilead, GSK, MSD, Pfizer, and United Therapeutics. Doerte Huscher has received fees for lectures and consultations from Actelion. David Pittrow has received fees for consultations from Actelion, Biogen, Aspen, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Daiichi Sankyo, and Sanofi. Stephan Rosenkranz has received fees for lectures and/or consultations from Actelion, Bayer, GSK, Pfizer, Novartis, Gilead, MSD, and United Therapeutics. Martin Claussen reports honoraria for lectures from Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH and Roche Pharma and for serving on advisory boards from Boehringer Ingelheim, outside the submitted work. Heinrike Wilkens reports personal fees from Boehringer and Roche during the conduct of the study and personal fees from Bayer, Biotest, Actelion, GSK, and Pfizer outside the submitted work. Juergen Behr received grants from Boehringer Ingelheim and personal fees for consultation or lectures from Actelion, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Roche. Hubert Wirtz reports personal fees from Boehringer Ingelheim and Roche outside the submitted work. Hening Gall reports personal fees from Actelion, AstraZeneca, Bayer, BMS, GSK, Janssen-Cilag, Lilly, MSD, Novartis, OMT, Pfizer, and United Therapeutics outside the submitted work. Elena Pfeuffer-Jovic reports personal fees from Actelion, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, and OMT outside the submitted work. Laura Scelsi reports personal fees from Actelion, Bayer, and MSD outside the submitted work. Siliva Ulrich reports grants from Swiss National Science Foundation, Zurich Lung, Swiss Lung, and Orpha Swiss, and grants and personal fees from Actelion SA/Johnson & Johnson Switzerland and MSD Switzerland outside the submitted work. The remaining authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Funding Information: This work was supported by the German Centre of Lung Research (DZL). COMPERA is funded by unrestricted grants from Acceleron , Actelion Pharmaceuticals , Bayer , OMT , and GSK . These companies were not involved in data analysis or the writing of this manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Authors Copyright: Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.The term idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) is used to categorize patients with pre-capillary pulmonary hypertension of unknown origin. There is considerable variability in the clinical presentation of these patients. Using data from the Comparative, Prospective Registry of Newly Initiated Therapies for Pulmonary Hypertension, we performed a cluster analysis of 841 patients with IPAH based on age, sex, diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO; <45% vs ≥45% predicted), smoking status, and presence of comorbidities (obesity, hypertension, coronary heart disease, and diabetes mellitus). A hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm was performed using Ward's minimum variance method. The clusters were analyzed in terms of baseline characteristics; survival; and response to pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) therapy, expressed as changes from baseline to follow-up in functional class, 6-minute walking distance, cardiac biomarkers, and risk. Three clusters were identified: Cluster 1 (n = 106; 12.6%): median age 45 years, 76% females, no comorbidities, mostly never smokers, DLCO ≥45%; Cluster 2 (n = 301; 35.8%): median age 75 years, 98% females, frequent comorbidities, no smoking history, DLCO mostly ≥45%; and Cluster 3 (n = 434; 51.6%): median age 72 years, 72% males, frequent comorbidities, history of smoking, and low DLCO. Patients in Cluster 1 had a better response to PAH treatment than patients in the 2 other clusters. Survival over 5 years was 84.6% in Cluster 1, 59.2% in Cluster 2, and 42.2% in Cluster 3 (unadjusted p < 0.001 for comparison between all groups). The population of patients diagnosed with IPAH is heterogenous. This cluster analysis identified distinct phenotypes, which differed in clinical presentation, response to therapy, and survival.publishersversionPeer reviewe

    Late-onset nocturnal intractable seizure during sleep: what is the origin?

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    A 54-year-old man was admitted to the Sleep Laboratory, Hospital of Kaunas University of Medicine, for assessment of nocturnal seizures of unknown origin during sleep. This patient complained of increasing daytime sleepiness, morning headaches. Before the admission to the Sleep Laboratory, the treatment with depakine and clonazepam had been prescribed. Despite the treatment, the frequency of nocturnal seizures and daytime sleepiness increased. Full night polysomnography was performed. Ten central apneas were registered during all night. Two central sleep apneas with deep desaturation followed by generalized tonicclonic seizures were documented. First sleep apnea lasted for 180 seconds and was terminated by epileptic tonic-clonic seizures. The second central sleep apnea with oxygen desaturation of 65% was detected 20 minutes later. It lasted for 200 seconds and was also terminated by epileptic tonic-clonic seizures. The conclusion was drawn that the patient had epileptic seizures caused by central sleep apneas with deep oxygen desaturation. The treatment with nasal continuous positive airway pressure device was started. The seizures disappeared completely. Clonazepam was stopped. Depakine was gradually withdrawn during the two weeks. One-year follow-up showed very good compliance, no seizures, and diminished daytime sleepiness

    Sarcoidosis – moving to the new standard of diagnosis?

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    In this article, the most recent literature data regarding the diagnosis of sarcoidosis have been reviewed. The diagnosis of sarcoidosis can be reliably established when there is a compatible clinical/radiological picture together with pathologic evidence of noncaseating epithelioid cell granulomas. Pathologic specimens can be obtained by conventional bronchoscopy with endobronchial, transbronchial lung biopsy, bronchoalveolar lavage, and recently introduced endoscopic ultrasound techniques (endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration, EUS-FNA, and endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration, EBUS-TBNA) or surgical procedures such as thoracotomy, thoracoscopy, and mediastinoscopy. The place and value of EBUS-TBNA or EUS-FNA in diagnosis of sarcoidosis are discussed

    Leideno faktorius ir potromboembolinė plaučių arterijos hipertenzija

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    Literature review and original data concerning the most common cause of inherited thrombophilia – activated protein C resistance have been presented. One hundred and three patients with confirmed venous thromboembolism have been investigated for activated protein C resistance with 2nd generation “Diagnostica Stago” test. Activated protein C resistance has been found in 22.3 % cases. In the group of 70 healthy unselected men and women, matched by sex and age, this mutation has been found in 7.1% cases. Out of 101 patients with pulmonary thromboembolism confirmed by pulmoangiography or perfusion lung scan, 78 have been investigated by Doppler echocardioscopy in order to detect pulmonary hypertension after 1.5 months. Statistically significant correlation between age and pulmonary artery pressure has been found. No correlation between pulmonary artery pressure and activated protein C resistance has been detected

    Impact of advanced medical therapy for the outcome of an adult patient with Eisenmenger syndrome

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    Eisenmenger syndrome (ES) is the most severe form of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with congenital heart disease. It is an extremely devastating condition with a serious impact on patients' life. Classical therapy of ES remains directed to avoid complications, such as erythrocytosis, treatment of congestive heart failure, prevention of infection, and secondary haematological abnormalities such as iron deficiency and coagulation disorders. However, the only effective treatment is heart–lung transplantation; still, morbidity and mortality after transplantation remain substantially high. Furthermore, waiting lists for heart–lung transplantation are long. Recent studies examining the use of advanced medical treatment in patients with ES have shown that it may have beneficial effects in patients with ES; however, additional studies need to be done to confirm its efficacy and appropriate clinical use. A 41-year-old female admitted to the Hospital of Lithuanian University of Health Sciences due to progressive dyspnea on minimal effort, heart failure symptoms leading to NYHA functional class III-IV. After clinical and instrumental investigations, ES secondary to unrepaired patent ductus arteriosus with severe PAH was diagnosed. Treatment with sildenafil was initiated together with the standard pharmacological therapy, and the patient was added to the waiting list for the heart and lung transplantation. After 24 months of stable condition, her clinical status deteriorated, and combination therapy (sildenafil and ambrisentan) was initiated. Clinical symptoms and exercise capacity improved, and she has been stable for 4 years thereafter. Our experience of the management of an adult patient with ES showed the benefits of treatment with advanced therapy with pulmonary vasodilators that improved the patient's quality of life and delayed the need for heart and lung transplantation

    Massive Hemoptysis Due to Anastomosis between the Left Phrenic Artery and Pulmonary Arteries/Veins

    No full text
    Massive hemoptysis is a serious medical condition or emergency which needs immediate treatment. It typically appears in the bronchial arteries and can be caused by a wide range of pulmonary diseases. This report is based on a very rare case of a patient bleeding from an anastomosis between the left phrenic artery and pulmonary arteries/veins. In this case, the chest computed tomography had detected changes which required doctors to perform a successful embolization

    Diagnostic Yield of Transbronchial Cryobiopsy Guided by Radial Endobronchial Ultrasound and Fluoroscopy in the Radiologically Suspected Lung Cancer: A Single Institution Prospective Study

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    Transbronchial cryobiopsy (TBCB) is being studied in the diagnosis of peripheral lung lesions; however, there are only a few clinical studies around the world. The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic values and safety of transbronchial cryobiopsy for radiologically suspected peripheral lung cancer. The prospective clinical study was executed from September 2019 to September 2021 at a tertiary clinical centre in Lithuania. A total of 48 patients out of 102 underwent combined procedures of transbronchial forceps biopsy (TBFB) and TBCB. Diagnostic values and safety outcomes of TBFB and TBCB were analysed. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy were 72.9%, 100%, 100%, 7.7%, and 88.0% for TBFB, 85.1%, 100%, 100%, 12.5%, and 93% for TBCB, as well as 91.5%, 100%, 100%, 20.0% and 96.7% for the combined procedures, respectively, with a significantly higher accuracy for cryobiopsies compared to forceps biopsies (p p = 0.016). Samples of cryobiopsies were significantly larger than forceps biopsies (34.62 mm2 vs. 4.4 mm2, p = 0.001). The cumulative diagnostic yield of transbronchial cryobiopsy was 80.0% after the second biopsy and reached a plateau of 84.1% after four biopsies. No severe bleeding, pneumothorax, respiratory failure or death was registered in our study. TBCB is a potentially safe procedure, which increases diagnostic values in diagnosing peripheral lung lesions compared to TBFB

    Factors associated with sputum culture conversion in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

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    Objective: The aim of this study was to determine what factors are associated with sputum culture conversion after 1 month of tuberculosis (TB) treatment. Materials and methods: A total of 52 patients with new drug susceptible pulmonary TB were included in the study. Patients completed St. George respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ), they were asked about smoking, alcohol use, living conditions and education. Body mass index (BMI) measurements, laboratory tests (C reactive protein [CRP], vitamin D, albumin) were performed, and chest X-ray was done. After 1 month of treatment sputum culture was repeated. Results: Culture conversion after 1 month of treatment was found in 38.5% cases. None of investigated social factors appeared to have an effect on conversion, but worse overall health status (as reported in SGRQ) and longer duration of tobacco smoking were detected in the ‘‘no conversion’’ group. Concentrations of albumin, CRP, X-ray score and the time it took Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture to grow also differed. Patients who scored 30 or more on SGRQ were more than 7 times as likely to have no conversion. However, the most important factor predicting sputum culture conversion was sputum smear grade at the beginning of treatment: patients with grade of 2+ or more had more than 20-fold higher relative risk for no conversion. Using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, we also developed a risk score for no conversion. Conclusions: The most important factors in predicting sputum culture conversion after 1 month of treatment were grades of acid-fast bacilli in sputum smears at time of diagnosis and scores of SGRQ
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