The Safety and Efficacy of Marijuana in Persons Living with HIV.

The prevalence of the use of marijuana throughout the world is substantial. In light of ongoing increases in accessibility to marijuana, safety and efficacy must be established to guide recommendations for safe use. Of particular interest is at-risk populations such as persons living with HIV (PLWH) in whom there are higher rates of marijuana use and inherent risks of comorbid conditions. Databases and reference lists were searched for relevant studies investigating marijuana or cannabinoid use, HIV, and/or pulmonary diseases. The effect of marijuana on the human body is complex and not yet fully understood. The principal components, tetrahydrocannabinol, and cannabidiol interact with cannabinoid receptors. As some cannabinoid receptors are located in the immune system, many have investigated the effect of marijuana on the immune system. Although marijuana would appear to have anti-inflammatory properties, there are conflicting findings on its immune effect in PLWH. In the lung, marijuana smoke is thought to cause harm. Marijuana smokers have shown increased rates of respiratory symptoms, and a variety of changes on lung function has been reported. Limited data are available specific to the safety of marijuana on the lung, cognition, malignancy risk, and cardiovascular disease in PLWH who are already at increased risk of chronic diseases. Marijuana use is common in PLWH, but significant research gaps exist with regard to its safety and efficacy. Until further evidence on its safety is available, recommendations should be to avoid the use in PLWH.

Assessing community (peer) researcher's experiences with conducting spirometry and being engaged in the 'Participatory Research in Ottawa: Management and Point-of-care for Tobacco-dependence' (PROMPT) project.

PLAIN SUMMARY: This article examines the overall experiences of community researchers in their involvement with the 'PROMPT' project for smoking cessation, which targeted community members who were homeless or at-risk for homelessness. More specifically, four community members, representing the study population were involved in the project as researchers. They were asked to complete surveys at both the beginning and end of each research training session to better understand their learning as it related to using a key instrument for this project, a spirometer, to measure project participants' lung function. Spirometry is typically performed by trained healthcare providers. Community researchers were also interviewed to explore what their experiences were like working as a researcher with their own at-risk community. Although the researchers felt that the training was sufficient, more research is needed to evaluate training effectiveness among community researchers in delivering acceptable quality lung function testing using a spirometer. Upon analyzing the small group discussion and survey results, we found that the community researchers had an overall positive experience with both the project, and the training that was provided to equip them with the knowledge, tools, and resources they needed to successfully work in a research project of this kind. They also faced challenges that are common in such community-based projects, such as the power differential between the researchers with a healthcare background and themselves who have lived experience with the issue at hand. ABSTRACT: Background The Ottawa Citizen Engagement and Action Model (OCEAM) used a Community Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR) approach by involving the most at-risk urban population. Community (peer) researchers participated in every step of the study despite the multiple challenges. Objective To assess the community researchers' training and experiences in a CBPAR project, PROMPT: Participatory Research in Ottawa: Management and Point-of-care for Tobacco Dependence. Method Four community researchers were recruited, representative of the PROMPT project's target population with current or past poly-substance use; smoking tobacco; and/or being homeless or at-risk for homelessness. The community researchers participated in all phases of PROMPT, including study design, development of questionnaires, participant recruitment, administering consent forms and questionnaires, as well as hand-held spirometry after rigorous training. To assess their knowledge and comfort level with spirometry testing after standardized training, questionnaires were administered pre- and post-training. In turn, to assess their overall experience, interviews were conducted at the end of study completion. Results All community researchers underwent small-group training sessions including presentations, discussions and hands-on practice adapted from standardized training material prepared for health care professionals. Spirometry training was included in all sessions. Self-perceived knowledge and confidence in administering spirometry, as well as skill-testing score averages improved between the pre- and post-training questionnaires. Overall, all the community researchers had a fulfilling experience participating in the project. Conclusion Despite challenges, involving community researchers with lived experience is feasible, satisfying and productive even in the most marginalized populations. Standardized spirometry training of community researchers' representative of the PROMPT target population, with no healthcare educational background, was feasible and effective in improving knowledge, confidence and readiness to administer spirometry.

The role of airway hyperresponsiveness measured by methacholine challenge test in defining asthma severity in asthma-obesity syndrome.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Asthma is a complex disease defined by chronic inflammation of the airways. In research and clinical practice measures used for diagnosis, an assessment of control and severity of asthma are varied and there exists no gold standard. To date, several studies have explored the link between obesity and asthma although the exact mechanism is not yet fully understood. A study undertaken by our research group in 2015, on the effects of weight loss on asthma severity in obese asthmatics, demonstrated that an improvement in airway hyperresponsiveness could be achieved after significant weight reduction with a weight loss program. The objective of this article is to review the current literature for the primary and secondary outcomes studied to estimate the effects of weight loss on asthma severity in adults with obesity and asthma. RECENT FINDINGS: A review of the most recent research conducted since 2014 demonstrates that effects of weight loss on asthma severity in adults with obesity and asthma has not been the focus of majority of the studies. Apart from our study published in 2015, very few studies used airway hyperresponsiveness as the primary or secondary outcome measure. The literature reveals that significant weight loss does, however, lead to improvement in asthma severity and control in adults with obesity and asthma. SUMMARY: The current literature suggests that improvement in lung function requires moderate to significant (5-10%) weight loss in adults with obesity and asthma. However, with a few exceptions, the majority of these studies were small and used variable and questionable asthma severity outcome measures. There is an urgent need for standardization of diagnosis of asthma, study inclusion criteria, and outcome measures to assess asthma severity in research setting. Long-term effects of weight loss interventions on asthma severity and control, in adults with obesity and asthma, also remain unanswered.