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Objective:This paper tried to have a dialogue with ChatGPT about ethics review, to understand the degree of intelligence of this application in the field of ethical management, and to analyze its possible impact on the future ethics review work.Methods:The research team sorted out 43 questions, then the research team member at abroad accomplish the dialogue with ChatGPT in both Chinese and English. Feedback answers were summarized and analyzed to explore their advantages and problems.Results:Most of the ChatGPT′s answers of this test were reasonable, with obvious advantages in response speed, and the rigor and friendliness were relatively good. However, there were also problems in consistency, comprehensiveness and expertise, the accuracy and computing power also still have a lot of space for improvement.Conclusions:It is too early for AI to replace professionals, but we should fully develop and utilize the advantages of AI to help professionals get rid of inefficient labor and play a better role.
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Objective:To analyze the effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) combined with obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) on hypercapnia and its related factors.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, patients with stable COPD were continuously recruited from July 2016 to December 2018 in the Respiratory Department of Peking University Third Hospital. General clinical data of patients were collected, and lung function test, arterial blood gas analysis and portable sleep monitoring were also conducted. Patients with COPD complicated with apnea hypopnea index (AHI)≥10 times/h and apnea events being mainly blockage-type events, accompanied by snoring, sleep apnea, daytime sleepiness and other symptoms were defined as overlapping group, patients with COPD complicated with AHI<10 times/h were defined as simple COPD group. Correlation analysis and logistic regression model were used to explore the determinants of daytime hypercapnia in patients with COPD.Results:Compared with simple COPD group, the median arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO 2) was significantly higher in the overlapping group (42.00 vs 38.95 mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), P<0.001), and the rate of daytime hypercapnia was significantly higher (23.3% vs 3.3%, P=0.002). PaCO 2 was correlated with forced vital capacity (FVC), percent predicted forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV 1%pred), the ratio of residual volume (RV) to total lung capacity (TLC), AHI, nocturnal average transcutaneous oxygen saturation (SpO 2), nocturnal minimum SpO 2 and the total sleep time spent with SpO 2≤90% (T90) (all P<0.05). In logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for age, sex, and body mass index (BMI), only severe OSAHS, GOLD Ⅲ-Ⅳ grade (FEV 1%pred<50%), and T90>1% were independent risk factors for hypercapnia. Conclusions:OSAHS can increase the risk of hypercapnia in patients with COPD. AHI, lung function injury and T90 are closely related to hypercapnia.
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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder.Its typical symptoms include social disorder, stereotyped behavior and restrictive interest.In addition, sensory abnormality is also a common symptom of ASD individuals.Pre-attentive processing is an automatic cognitive process that takes place before attention and is independent of consciousness, which reflects the ability to automatically detect changes in the environment of brain.Many researches show that the sensory abnormality and social ability disorder in ASD patients may be related to the defects in the pre-attentive processing stage.Mismatch negativity (MMN) is the most commonly used indicator of pre-attentive processing.ASD individuals show abnormal MMN in response to both social and non-social stimulus.Among them, the pre-attentive processing defect of non-social stimuli in ASD individuals is manifested as the amplitude or latency of MMN induced by single tones, voice or visual stimuli, which is different from that of normal people.The pre-attentive processing defect of social stimuli in ASD individuals is manifested as the amplitude or latency of MMN induced by emotional voice and emotional face, which is different from that of normal people.This result not only helps to find the physiological mechanism of sensory and social disorders in ASD individuals, but also provides theoretical support for MMN as an auxiliary diagnostic index of ASD.Future research on the pre-attentive processing of ASD individuals should pay more attention to enriching the research paradigms of MMN and adopting more kinds of social stimuli.At the same time, the influence of ASD genetic factors on MMN can also be one of the concerns of future research.
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Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and short-term prognosis of patients with acute asthmatic attack and comorbid bronchiectasis.Methods:The data of patients hospitalized for acute asthmatic attack in the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Peking University Third Hospital from January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2021 were retrospectively collected and analyzed. According to whether or not co-existing with bronchiectasis, all the patients were divided into asthmatic with bronchiectasis group and asthmatic without bronchiectasis group. Then the general conditions, comorbidities, pulmonary function test, grades of asthma severity, laboratory examination and in-hospital short-term prognosis of two groups were analyzed.Results:A total of 580 hospitalized patients with acute asthma attack were included, of which 132 cases (22.76%) were classified into asthmatic with bronchiectasis group and 448 cases (77.24%) were classified into asthmatic without bronchiectasis group. Co-existing with obsolete pulmonary tuberculosis and anxiety/depression in asthmatic with bronchiectasis group were more common than that in asthmatic without bronchiectasis group (13.64% vs 5.36%; 7.58% vs 2.68%) (both P<0.05). The pre-bronchodilator forced vital capacity (FVC) and its percentage to the predicted value (FVC%pred), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV 1) and its percentage to the predicted value (FEV 1%pred), FEV 1/FVC and post-bronchodilator FEV 1 in asthmatic with bronchiectasis group were lower than those in the asthmatic without bronchiectasis group [2.44 (1.90, 3.01) vs 2.69 (2.10, 3.68) L, 1.55 (1.13, 2.00) vs 1.78 (1.25, 2.52) L, 70.14% (67.39%, 85.92%) vs 79.63% (70.00%, 89.52%), 70.00% (54.38%, 78.11%) vs 70.00% (61.47%, 85.00%), 61.57% (56.29%, 73.03%) vs 66.67% (60.00%, 75.00%), 1.72 (1.21, 2.18) vs 1.89 (1.37, 2.55) L] (all P<0.05). In previous year, the proportion of patients receiving hospitalization due to acute asthmatic attack in asthmatic with bronchiectasis group was higher than that in asthmatic without bronchiectasis group (15.15% vs 8.93%) ( P<0.05). The peak months of hospitalization due to acute asthmatic attack in asthmatic with bronchiectasis group were April, July and October, and the peak months in asthmatic without bronchiectasis group were April and September. The length of hospital stay was longer and the proportion of patients receiving invasive ventilation was higher in asthmatic with bronchiectasis group than those in asthmatic without bronchiectasis group [10.06 (7.62, 13.94) vs 9.95 (7.15, 13.76) d; 5.30% vs 2.01%] (both P<0.05). The risk factors for invasive mechanical ventilation in asthmatic patients with acute attack during hospitalization were co-existing with bronchiectasis, smoking, high level of partial pressure of carbon dioxide in arterial blood, serum creatinine and creatine kinase. Conclusion:Asthma patients with comorbid bronchiectasis have more frequent acute attack, a longer hospitalization due to acute asthmatic attack and a higher probability of invasive ventilation during hospitalization.
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Objective:To construct a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) assessment test (CAT) score prediction model based on a deep network fused with air data, and to explore its significance.Methods:From February 2015 to December 2017, the outdoor environmental monitoring air data near the residential area of the patients with COPD from the Respiratory Outpatient Clinics of Peking University Third Hospital, Peking University People′s Hospital and Beijing Jishuitan Hospital were collected and the daily air pollution exposure of patients was calculated. The daily CAT scores were recorded continuously. The CAT score of the patients in the next week was predicted by fusing the time series algorithm and neural network to establish a model, and the prediction accuracy of the model was compared with that of the long short-term memory model (LSTM), the LSTM-attention model and the autoregressive integrated moving average model (ARIMA).Results:A total of 47 patients with COPD were enrolled and followed up for an average of 381.60 days. The LSTM-convolutional neural networks (CNN)-autoregression (AR) model was constructed by using the collected air data and CAT score, and the root mean square error of the model was 0.85, and the mean absolute error was 0.71. Compared with LSTM, LSTM-attention and ARIMA, the average prediction accuracy was improved by 21.69%.Conclusion:Based on the air data in the environment of COPD patients, the fusion deep network model can predict the CAT score of COPD patients more accurately.
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Objective:The aim of this study was to improve the method of pipe fixation and reduce pipes-related adverse events.Methods:A 3M cotton fabric skin color pressure sensitive tape was chosen and cut to the double ring shape. A total of 95 patients used the Weilang ? split multifunctional abdominal drainage tube after abdominal surgery in the surgical ward of the second affiliated hospital of Zhejiang University Medical College from July 2018 to December 2018 were recruited and then randomly divided into the observation group (48 cases) and the control group (47 cases). The observation group was fixed by double ring fixation and the control group was fixed by traditional method. The cutting time, fixing time, changing time, the adverse events related to the fixation and the pain score of the patients were compared between the two groups.Results:The incidence of adverse events in the observation group was lower than that in the control group. The time of cutting fixed patches was (6.27 ± 1.07)s in the observation group and (11.04 ± 0.91)s in the control group, which had a significant difference ( t value was -23.457, P < 0.05). The number of fixed patches used per capita was 1.10 ± 0.31 in the observation group and 2.32 ± 0.47 in the control group, which had a significant difference ( t value was -14.896, P < 0.05). In addition, the number of cases whose pain score of pipeline pulling was greater than 4 was 0 in observation group. By contrast the number was 7 in the control group, which had a significant difference ( χ2 value was 5.690, P = 0.017). Conclusions:The use of double ring fixation in fixing the Weilang ? split multifunctional abdominal drainage tube was safe and worthy of being expanded.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease. Pulmonary arterial hypertension(PAH) is a common complication of COPD, but COPD complicated with severe PAH is rare. Moreover, clinicians have a serious lack of attention to it. This review is based on the definition and epidemiological characteristics, pathogenesis, screening, diagnosis and treatment, in order to provide effective theoretical support for early clinical identification and treatment of COPD complicated with severe pulmonary hypertension.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common respiratory disease.Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a common complication of COPD,but COPD complicated with severe PAH is rare.Moreover,clinicians have a serious lack of attention to it.This review is based on the definition and epidemiological characteristics,pathogenesis,screening,diagnosis and treatment,in order to provide effective theoretical support for early clinical identification and treatment of COPD complicated with severe pulmonary hypertension.
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Objective@#To assess the associations of indoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from outdoor and indoor sources with heart rate (HR) and heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) of Beijing.@*Methods@#A total of 40 male patients in a stable stage of COPD were recruited from a hospital in a panel study in Beijing with 5 consecutive days of measurement for each subject. General information and disease history of the participants from questionnaires were obtained prior to the study. HR and HRV were repeatedly examined using dynamic electrocardiograph. HRV included standard deviation of all NN intervals (SDNN), root mean square of successive differences between adjacent NN intervals (rMSSD), total power (TP) power in the low-frequency band (LF) and the high-frequency band (HF). Iron was used as tracer element to separate indoor-originated PM2.5 and outdoor-originated PM2.5. Mixed-effect models were applied to assess the associations of outdoor-originated PM2.5 or indoor-originated PM2.5 and health effects.@*Results@#The P50 (P25, P75) values of daily indoor PM2.5, indoor-originated PM2.5 and outdoor-originated PM2.5 were 50.9 (26.8, 122.7), 16.0 (1.9, 43.7) and 27.3 (13.5, 61.8) μg/m3, respectively. The mean±SD of concentrations of real-time indoor PM2.5, indoor-originated PM2.5 and outdoor-originated PM2.5 were (61.5±58.8), (25.3±39.1) and (36.2±42.7) μg/m3, respectively. Compared with outdoor-originated PM2.5, indoor-originated PM2.5 had significant associations with HRV and HR. Each 10 μg/m3 increase at 4 h indoor-originated PM2.5 and outdoor-originated PM2.5 moving average was associated with 3.4% (95%CI: -4.7%, -2.1%) and 0.6% (95%CI: -2.0%, -0.8%) reduction in TP (P<0.001). Each 10 μg/m3 increase at 12 h indoor-originated PM2.5 moving average was associated with 7.6% (95%CI: -10.1%, -5.1%), 4.7% (95%CI: -6.7%, -2.7%), 3.3% (95%CI: -4.2%,-2.4%) and 3.0% (95%CI: -4.5%, -1.5%) reduction in HF, LF, SDNN and rMSSD, respectively. Each 10 μg/m3 increase at 12 h outdoor-originated PM2.5 moving average was associated with 0.7% (95%CI: -2.7%, -1.4%), 0.2% (95%CI: -1.9%, 1.4%), 0.7% (95%CI: -1.4%, -0.1%) and 0.2% (95%CI: -1.3%, 0.9%) reduction in HF, LF, SDNN and rMSSD, respectively (P<0.001). Each 10 μg/m3 increase at 8 h indoor-originated PM2.5 and outdoor-originated PM2.5 moving average was associated with 0.7% (95%CI: 0.4%, 1.0%) and 0.4% (95%CI: 0.2%, 0.6%) increase in HR.@*Conclusion@#Exposure to indoor-originated PM2.5 was more strongly associations with HRV indices and HR compared with outdoor-originated PM2.5 in male COPD patients.
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Objectives@#To investigate the effect of short-term exposure to ambient NO2 has influence on lung function and fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients.@*Methods@#A panel of doctor-diagnosed stable COPD patients (n=33) were recruited and repeatedly measured for lung function and FeNO from December 2013 to October 2014. The patients who lived in Beijing for more than one year and aged between 60 and 85 years old were included in the study. We excluded patients with asthma, bronchial tensor, lung cancer and other respiratory disorders other than chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and occupational exposure and chest trauma surgery patients. Because the frequency of each subject visiting to the hospital was different, a total of 170 times of lung function measurements and 215 times of FeNO measurements were conducted. At the same time, the atmospheric NO2 data of Beijing environmental monitoring station near the residence of each patient during the study period were collected from 1 day to 7 days lag before the measurement. Effects of short-term NO2 exposure on lung function and FeNO in COPD patients were estimated by linear mixed-effects models.@*Results@#The subjects' forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), peak expiratory flow (PEF), and exhaled NO of subjects were (3.26±0.83) L, (1.66±0.61) L, (4.13±1.77) L/s, and (48.99±14.30) μg/m3, respectively. The concentration of NO2 was (70.3±34.2) μg/m3 and the interquartile range (IQR) was 39.0 μg/m3. Short-term exposure to NO2 resulted in a significant decrease in FVC among COPD patients' which was most obvious in 2 days lag. Every quartile range increased in NO2 (39 μg/m3, 2 day) would cause a 1.84% (95%CI: -3.20%- -0.48%) reduction in FVC. The effects of exposure to higher concentration of NO2 (≥58.0 μg/m3) on FVC estimate was -2.32% (95%CI: -4.15%- -0.48%)(P=0.02). No significant relevance of FeNO and NO2 was observed in this study.@*Conclusions@#Short term exposure to ambient NO2 may bring down pulmonary function in COPD patients.
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Objective To study the cyclooxygenase (COX-2) ,nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and clinical significance in triple negative breast cancer .Methods From January 2010 to December 2014 ,breast cancer treatment in our hospital 100 patients for the study ,50 patients with triple negative breast cancer ,50 cases of non-triple neg-ative breast cancer was detected by immunohistochemistry ,100 cases of breast cancer were detected by immunohistochemistry in or-ganizations COX-2 ,NF-κB and VEGF expression of lymphatic vessel invasion and lymph vessel density and D2-40 mark detection , statistical analysis of relevant clinical and pathological information .Results COX-2 in triple negative and non-triple negative breast cancer were 76% ,70% ,the difference was not statistically significant (P>0 .05) ,VEGF triple negative breast cancer and non-triple negative breast lesions in cancerous lesions positive expression rates of 60% and 36% ,respectively ,which had significant difference (P<0 .05) .NF-κB in triple negative breast cancer lesions and non-triple negative breast lesions positive expression rate was 66%and 32% ,respectively ,which had significant difference (P< 0 .05) .Triple negative breast cancer NF-κB and VEGF ,COX-2 and VEGF expression was significantly positively related to breast cancer .Conclusion Radiation and chemotherapy is a major means of triple negative breast cancer postoperative treatment ,while inhibiting the NF-κB ,the expression of VEGF and COX-2 is expected to become the new target for treatment of triple negative breast cancer ,is worth exploring .
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Objective:To investigate the role of anaphylatoxin C 5 a in patients with asthma .Methods:A prospective study was performed between September 2006 and February 2007.A total of 33 patients with acute exacerbation of asthma and 13 healthy subjects were recruited into the study .The patients with acute exacerbation of asthma were also studied when they returned to the remission state .Levels of lung function, levels of C5a in induced sputum and cell differential count in induced sputum were determined . Results:The level of C5 a in induced sputum was significantly higher in patients with acute exacerbation of asthma [0.85(0.68-2.13) μg/L] than that in patients with stable asthma [0.45(0.26-0.88)μg/L, Z=-2.193, P=0.013];Sputum C5a levels in stable asthma patients were significantly higher than those in healthy controls [0.14(0.06-0.45) μg/L, Z=-2.141, P=0.015].The level of C5a in patients with severe exacerbation [2.21(1.27 -9.0) μg/L] was significantly higher than those in patients with mild exacerbation [0.34(0.17-0.63) μg/L] and moderate exacerbation [0.85(0.55-1.67) μg/L,χ2 =12.330, P=0.001].The level of C5a in induced sputum was positively correlated with the number of total cells count (r=0.797, P=0.004), neutrophils (r=0.504, P=0.032) and macrophages ( r =0.424, P=0.036 ) in acute exacerbation of asthma .Conclusion: C5a levels in induced sputum could be identified as an important prognostic biomarker , which involved in asthma ’ s pathogenesis .
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Objective To analyze the characteristics of pulmonary function and the clinical significance of non‐specific pattern (NSP) ,and provide basis for the clinical research .Methods A total of 120 pulmonary function tests of adult patients from January 2013 to June 2014 were selected and divided into NSP group(n=20) and normal lung function group(n=100) according to their lung function behavior .The pulmonary function test results ,clinical diagnosis and radiological manifestations were analyzed .The relevant factors affecting NSP occurred were selected and logistic regression analysis was used to analyze multiple factors .Results The FEVl ,VC ,TLC ,FVC ,MVV and FEVl/FVC in normal group were significantly higher than that of NSP group and the RV/TCL was lower than NSP group ,the difference was statistically significant (P<0 .05) .Patients in NSP group were with obstructive and (or) restrictive clinical manifestations .There were 9 patients were without lung disease .Univariate analysis showed that age , BMI ,smoking history ,smoking ,obstructive diseases ,and restrictive disease in NSP group were significantly higher than that in nor‐mal group ,the difference were statistically significant (P<0 .05) .Multivariate analysis showed that age ,BMI ,history of smoking , obstructive diseases and restrictive disease were independent risk factors for NSP (P<0 .05) .Conclusion Old age ,smoking and o‐besity could increase the incidence rate of NSP .The clinical characteristics include obstructive and restrictive ventilation defects ,and need to be identified positively .
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the efficacy and safety of atorvastatin, rosuvastatin and xuezhikang capsule in elderly.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 314 60-to-94-year-old (average (73.6 ± 7.9) years old) patients who were given different doses and types of statins were divided into three groups: the atorvastatin group (108 patients), the rosuvastatin group (104 patients) and the xuezhikang capsule group (102 patients). The serum TG, TC, LDL-C, HDL-C,ALT and CK were examined before and after the treatment which lasted for at least 4 weeks. All patients were divided into moderate risk group (13, 12 and 21 patients respectively in 3 groups); high risk group (40, 44 and 48 patients respectively in 3 groups) and very high risk group (55, 48 and 33 patients respectively in 3 groups ) according to guidelines on prevention and treatment of dyslipidemia in chinese adults (2007 version). The rate of reaching target goal and the dose when reaching target levels in different risk stratification groups were calculated and compared.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Serum TC, LDL-C and non-HDL-C were significantly reduced after the 4-week-treatment in all the three groups (P < 0.01). Serum LDL-C level before and after treatment were (3.14 ± 0.78)mmol/L vs. (2.14 ± 0.65)mmol/L in atorvastatin group (the arevage dose was (16.4 ± 4.8)mg/d), (2.92 ± 0.77)mmol/L vs. (1.96 ± 0.55)mmol/L in rosuvastatin group (the arevage dose was (8.7 ± 3.0) mg/d), and (2.70 ± 0.62)mmol/L vs. (2.16 ± 0.61) mmol/L in xuezhikang capsule group (the arevage dose was (0.9 ± 0.3) g/d ). Among all the three groups of patients, the cases of reaching target levels of LDL-C were 13, 11 and 20 in patients at moderate risk, were 38(95.0%), 38(86.4%) and 40 (83.3%) in patients at high risk, and were 22(40.0%), 30(62.5%) and 17(51.5%) in patients at very high risk. There were no statistical differences in the rate of reaching target levels of LDL-C, non-HDL-C and TC in the three groups and at different risks (P > 0.05). One patient in the atorvastatin group showed ALT level elevation >3 times of the upper limit of normal value, there was no patient with CK level elevation >5 times of the upper limit of normal value.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Atorvastatin, rosuvastatin and xuezhikang capsule at low dose and/or standard dose are effective and safety in elderly patients.</p>
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Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Anticholesteremic Agents , Atorvastatin , Cholesterol, LDL , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Dyslipidemias , Drug Therapy , Fluorobenzenes , Therapeutic Uses , Heptanoic Acids , Therapeutic Uses , Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors , Therapeutic Uses , Pyrimidines , Therapeutic Uses , Pyrroles , Therapeutic Uses , Rosuvastatin Calcium , Sulfonamides , Therapeutic UsesABSTRACT
Primary tracheobronchial amyloidosis (TBA) is a rare pulmonary disease. A systematic review was performed on 64 cases of primary TBA in China and progress in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease is discussed. The Chinese biological and medical databases from 1970 to 2010 were searched and 75 cases of complete clinical and pathological data were identified. The clinical characteristics of the disease were summarized and longitudinal comparisons were made of diagnostic and treatment methods over time. The results showed that the morbidity associated with primary TBA has increased over recent years. The clinical manifestations were non-specific. Progressive dyspnea, cough and sputum were the most common symptoms. The percentage of patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) scan has increased over the years. The bronchoscopy and transbrochial lung biopsy (TBLB) were usually sufficient to establish the diagnosis. Treatment was reported for a total of 44 cases. Bronchoscopic Nd:YAG laser irradiation, argon plasma coagulation (APC) and drugs administration such as steroids and colchicines were reported to be effective in some patients. It is concluded that the demographic characteristics and clinical manifestations of primary TBA patients in China are largely consistent with findings reported in other countries. Dramatically more cases were reported in recent years, mainly due to the extensive application of bronchoscopy since 1990s. Chest CT scan provides important clues for the diagnosis of the disease. The definite diagnosis was confirmed by bronchoscopic findings and Congo red staining of biopsy specimen. Bronchoscopic Nd:YAG laser irradiation, argon plasma coagulation (APC) and drugs administration, such as steroids and colchicines were reported to be effective in some patients.
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Objective To investigate the role of endogenous Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) in airway inflammation and responsiveness in a rat model of chronic passive-smoking.Methods Male SD rats were randomly divided into a control group (breathing fresh air) and a passive smoking group [cigarette smoking (CS) passively] ,with 18 rats in each group.Six rats in each group were randomly intraporitoneally injected with normal saline, sodium hydrosulfide (NailS) or propargylglycine (PPG, an irreversible inhibitor of cystathionine-γ-lyase).The animals were divided into six subgroups,ie.Con group, Naris group, and PPG group, CS group, CS + Naris group, and CS + PPG group.After 4 months,lung histological change and airway tension were measured.The H2 S levels of plasma and lung tissue were analyzed by the sensitive sulphur electrode assay.The expression of cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE) was measured by western blot.Results Compared with the Con group, CSE protein expression in lung tissues was increased in CS group(P < 0.05) ; the H2S levels of plasma were significantly higher in GS group,NariS group and CS + Naris group,and much lower in PPG group (P < 0.05, respectively).Compared with CS group, the H2 S levels of plasma were significantly higher in CS + Naris group, and much lower in CS + PPG group (P < 0.05, respectively).The H2S level of lung tissue in each group had no significant difference (P > 0.05).Compared with Con group, score of lung pathology was significant elevated, and the responsiveness of airway smooth muscles to Ach and KCI was significant augmented in CS group.Compared with CS group, the score of lung pathology was decreased, and the responsiveness of airway smooth muscles was decreased in CS + NariS group(P < 0.05), and vise versa in CS + PPG group (P < 0.01).Conclusion H2 S can alleviate airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness induced by CS, and administration of H2S might be of clinical benefit in airway inflammation and airway responsiveness.
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Objective:To investigate the role of endogenous hydrogen sulfide(H2S)in patients with asthma.Methods:Levels of serum H2S,lung function and cell differential count in induced sputum were studied in 44 patients with acute exacerbation of asthma,33 patients with stable asthma and 12 health subjects.Of the 33 patients with stable asthma,3 failed to achieve induced sputum.Results:The serum H2S level was(75.2?13.0)?mol/L in controls(12 cases),(55.8?13.6)?mol/L in patients with stable asthma(33 cases),(57.8?6.3)?mol/L in patients with mild of acute exacerbation asthma(9 cases),(40.8?5.1)?mol/L in that with moderate of acute exacerbation asthma(13 cases),and(31.3?2.9)?mol/L in that with severe of acute exacerbation asthma(22 cases,F=44.592,P
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Objective:To investigate the changes and clinical implications of serum procalcitonin in exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).Methods:We have evaluated PCT measurement in 45 patients with an exacerbation of COPD(group A) and 25 patients with stable COPD(group B),quantitative sputum culture was performed,too.PPMs were only regarded as significant if they reached a growth of ≥10~7cfu/mL,indicating the presence of bacterial infection.Results:In patients with an exacerbation,15 patients,sputum yielded a high(≥10~7cfu/mL) bacterial load(group A_1),30 patients,sputum yielded a low(0.05).Using a cut-off point of 0.155?g/L for PCT,the sensitivities and specificities for bacterial infection in patients with an exacerbation of COPD were 93.3% and 60% respectively.Conclusion: Serum procalcitonin measurements in patients of an exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease play a role in the diagnosis of bacterial infection.
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Objective: To determine the role of cross-talk between calcineurin-dependent signal transduction pathway and protein kinase C (PKC), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and protein kinase A (PKA) in airway remodeling in asthma. Methods: Male guinea pigs were sensitized with intraperitoneal injections of ovabumin (OVA), then treated with cyclosporin A (CsA,5 mg/kg), an inhibitor of calcineurin, then inhaled OVA for 2 weeks 14 days later. Activities of calcineurin, PKC, MAPK, and PKA were was analyzed by phosphorylation and dephosphorylation. In primary cultures of rat airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC), activities of calcineurin, PKC, MAPK, and cross-talk induced by urotensin Ⅱ (UⅡ), a recently identified strong mitogen, were measured. Results: (1) The activities of calcineurin, MAPK and PKC increased by 19% (P0.05). (4) CsA 10 -6 mol/L inhibited UⅡ-stimulated PKC activity by 14% (P0.05). Conclusion:The signal transduction pathways between calcineurin and other protein kinases such as PKC, MAPK and PKA have cross-talk in airway remodeling in asthma.
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<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the role of calcineurin (CaN) in the lung fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis induced by basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We used Western blot and immunohistochemical methods for investigating the content and distribution of calcineurin in the lung tissue. Calcineurin activity in different tissues was measured using (32)P-labelled substrate. In the primary culture of lung fibroblasts, (3)H-thymidine ((3)H-TdR) and (3)H-proline incorporation methods were used to study the effect of cyclosporin A (CsA), an inhibitor of calcineurin, on the lung fibroblast DNA and collagen synthesis stimulated by bFGF.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>We found that calcineurin was expressed in lung tissue and has phosphatase activity (7.1 +/- 2.0 pmol Pi/mg pr/min). CsA (10(-8) - 10(-6) mol/L) inhibited lung fibroblast (3)H-TdR incorporation induced by bFGF in a dose-dependent manner, with the inhibitory rates by 20%, 46% and 66% (P < 0.01). CsA (10(-7) - 10(-6) mol/L) inhibited (3)H-proline incorporation in lung fibroblasts stimulated by bFGF, with the inhibitory rates by 21% and 37% (P < 0.01). In a culture medium, CsA (10(-8) - 10(-6) mol/L) inhibited (3)H-proline secretion induced by bFGF in a dose-dependent manner, with the inhibitory rates by 19%, 29% (P < 0.05) and 56% (P < 0.01). CsA (10(-7) mol/L) could inhibit calcineurin activity by 44% in lung fibroblasts (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Calcineurin is expressed in lung tissue and has phosphatase activity. It is involved in the bFGF stimulated lung fibroblast DNA and collagen synthesis.</p>