Review 1: Lung transplant-from donor selection to graft preparation.

For various end-stage lung diseases, lung transplantation remains one of the only viable treatment options. While the demand for lung transplantation has steadily risen over the last few decades, the availability of donor grafts is limited, which have resulted in progressively longer waiting lists. In the early years of lung transplantation, only the 'ideal' donor grafts are considered for transplantation. Due to the donor shortages, there is ongoing discussion about the safe use of 'suboptimal' grafts to expand the donor pool. In this review, we will discuss the considerations around donor selection, donor-recipient matching, graft preparation and graft optimisation.

Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) in rheumatoid arthritis and its correlation with sonographic knee cartilage thickness and disease activity.

The aim of the study is to investigate the correlation of serum cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) levels with articular cartilage damage based on sonographic knee cartilage thickness (KCT) and disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). A total of 61 RA patients and 27 healthy controls were recruited in this study. Serum samples were obtained from all subjects to determine the serum COMP levels. All subjects had bilateral ultrasound scan of their knees. The KCT was based on the mean of measurements at three sites: the medial condyle, lateral condyle and intercondylar notch. Besides, the RA patients were assessed for their disease activity based on 28-joint-based Disease Activity Score (DAS 28). Serum COMP concentrations were significantly elevated in the RA patients compared to the controls (p = 0.001). The serum COMP levels had an inverse relationship with bilateral KCT in RA subjects and the healthy controls. COMP correlated significantly with disease activity based on DAS 28 (r = 0.299, p = 0.010), disease duration (r = 0.439, p = < 0.05) and mean left KCT (r = - 0.285, p = 0.014) in RA. The correlation between serum COMP and DAS 28 scores was comparable to the traditional markers of inflammation: erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) (r = 0.372, p = 0.003) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (r = 0.305, p = 0.017). The serum COMP is a promising biomarker in RA which reflects disease activity and damage to the articular cartilage.

Anti-Citrullinated Cyclic Peptide Antibody and Functional Disability Are Associated With Poor Sleep Quality in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to determine the predictors of poor sleep quality in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a monocentric, cross sectional, case-control study which was conducted at the Putrajaya Hospital, Malaysia. We recruited 46 patients with RA (3 males; 43 females; mean age 48.15±14.96) and 46 age and sex-matched healthy controls (3 males; 43 females; mean age 47.11±12.22). RA patients were assessed for their disease activity based on disease activity score in 28 joints, disease damage based on radiographic erosions, and functional status based on Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores were determined by interviewing all the subjects. Subjects with RA were further subdivided based on their PSQI scores as "good sleepers" with PSQI scores of <5 and "poor sleepers" with PSQI scores of ≥5. RESULTS: The percentage of poor sleepers was significantly higher among RA patients (47.83% versus 9.57%). Median scores of 5 out of 7 components of the PSQI were higher among RA patients compared to controls. Among poor sleepers with RA, a significantly higher proportion tested positive for anti-citrullinated cyclic peptide autoantibodies (p=0.037). Besides, poor sleepers had significantly higher median Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (p=0.017) than good sleepers. However, both Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (p=0.968) and anti-citrullinated cyclic peptide (p=0.431) were insignificant when entered in the equation of a logistic regression model. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study demonstrate a link between functional disability, anti-citrullinated cyclic peptide antibodies, and sleep quality in RA.

Antinuclear antibodies in primary osteoarthritis of the knee: a case-control study.

Objective: Although osteoarthritis (OA) is widely accepted as a degenerative disease, autoimmune processes are believed to be involved in the pathogenesis. There are limited studies in this area and most of them focused on antibodies against chondrocyte membrane. In an attempt to address the paucity of evidence in this regard, we explored the clinical significance of antinuclear antibody (ANA) in primary osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK). Method: We studied 106 patients with primary osteoarthritis of at least 1 knee and 63 healthy controls from two tertiary centres in Malaysia from September 2005 to May 2012. All subjects were tested for ANA by immunofluorescence testing, and a titer of 1:40 and above was considered positive. Besides, the radiographs of bilateral knees were evaluated for grading, tibiofemoral compartment involvement and total knee replacement (TKR) implants. We compared the clinical characteristics between the ANA positive and ANA negative OAK cases. Results: The incidence of ANA positivity among the cases (39.4 %) was higher than the controls (27 %) but this difference was statistically insignificant (p=0.754). ANA positive cases showed significantly higher incidence of bilateral and Grade IV OAK with higher frequency of TKR. In the multiple regression analysis, bilateral OAK (p< 0.0001; odds ratio 9.00), Grade IV OAK (p<0.001, odds ratio 3.44) and TKR (p=0.009; odds ratio 2.97) remained associated with ANA positivity. Conclusions: ANA test is a potential prognostic tool in primary OAK and its positivity is associated with the clinical outcomes of bilateral, Grade IV OAK and TKR.