ABSTRACT
Background/Aims@#Although international guidelines for bronchiectasis management have been published in Western countries, there is a lack of data about their application in Asian populations including patients with different phenotypes. We aimed to investigate the current status of bronchiectasis management in Asian populations. @*Methods@#A nationwide questionnaire survey was performed of Asian respiratory specialists from South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka. Participants were invited by e-mail to answer a questionnaire comprising 25 questions based on international guidelines for the management of bronchiectasis. @*Results@#A total of 221 physicians participated in the survey. About half of them were Korean (50.2%), with the next most common nationalities being Japanese (23.1%), Taiwanese (13.6%), and Singaporean (7.7%). Only 18 (8.1%) responders had local guidelines for bronchiectasis. While 85 (38.5%) responders checked sputum acid-fast bacillus smear/culture about 1 to 3 times per year, only a small proportion of responders routinely performed a serum immunoglobulin test (36/221, 16.3%) or evaluated for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (41/221, 18.6%). Less than half (43.4%) of responders performed eradication treatment in patients with drug-sensitive Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, mainly due to the limited availability of inhaled antibiotics (34.8%). In addition, 58.6% of responders considered physiotherapy such as airway clearance and pulmonary rehabilitation. @*Conclusions@#Discrepancies might exist between guideline recommendations and practice for bronchiectasis management in Asian populations, partly due to the limited availability of treatment in each country. The development of local guidelines that consider the phenotypes and situation will help to standardize and improve the management of bronchiectasis.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the antibiofilm activity of alpha- mangostin (AMG) loaded nanoparticle (nanoAMG) against dental caries pathogen Streptococcus mutans. Methods: AMG was isolated from the peels of Garcinia mangostana L. using silica gel columns and chemically analysed by high performance liquid chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance. NanoAMG was prepared using the solvent evaporation method combined with high-speed homogenization. The nanoparticles were characterized using dynamic light scattering, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The toxicity of nanoAMG in fibroblast NIH/3T3 cell line was determined using MTT method. The antibiofilm effect of nanoAMG was determined through the evaluation of biofilm formation by Streptococcus mutans using a 96-well plate. Biofilm biomass was quantified using crystal violet. Cell viability was observed under confocal microscopy using LIVE/DEAD BacLight staining. Moreover, gene expression was determined by quantitative real-time PCR and membrane permeabilization activity by measuring the uptake of o-nitrophenol- β-D-galactoside. Results: NanoAMG size was in a range of 10-50 nm with a polydispersity index of < 0.3 and zeta potential value of -35.2 mV The size and the incorporation of AMG in the nanoparticles were confirmed by FE-SEM and FTIR analyses. The IC
ABSTRACT
Background: Gastric cancer is the second common disease among types of cancer, followed by lung cancer for male and breast cancer for female. The selection of appropriate regimens for illness and economic conditions of patients is always a difficult problem for clinicians. Objectives: To assess preliminary results of chemotherapy in treatment of gastric cancer in Hai Phong. Subjects and method: A longitudinal, cross-section study was conducted on 57 patients with gastric cancer (35 male, 21 female), treated in Viet Tiep hospital from January, 2002 to June, 2006. All of them were in stage of Dukes C, treated postoperative supported chemotherapy. Results: Side effects were common seen as vomit, nausea and diarrhea. They were often mild and disappeared after stopping medication. 30/57 patients responded to treatment. 21 patients were treated with regimen 5FU, however, amount of treatment cycles was very scattered and treatment effect was unclear. 36 patients were treated with multi-chemical regimens as FUFA, FAM and ELF. Their response to treatment was more clearly than regimen 5FU. During treatment, there were 6 patients who had not completely responded to treatment. In which, 4 patients developed more seriously: metastasis to liver, ovary, bone and lung. 2 patients had died. Conclusion: Regimen 5FU had a little toxicity. Regimen FUFA was more effective. The role of chemotherapy in supported treatment was unclear. Chemotherapy could be applied to patients with early stage of Dukes B.