ß-escin activates ALDH and prevents cigarette smoke-induced cell death.

BACKGROUND: The tobacco use is one of the biggest public health threats worldwide. Cigarette smoke contains over 7000 chemicals among other aldehydes, regarded as priority toxicants. ß-escin (a mixture of triterpenoid saponins extracted from the Aesculus hippocastanum. L) is a potent activator of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) - an enzyme catalyzing oxidation of aldehydes to non-toxic carboxylic acids. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ß-escin on ALDH activity, ALDH isoforms mRNA expression and cytotoxicity in nasal epithelial cells exposed to cigarette smoke extract (CSE). METHODS: Nasal epithelial cells from healthy non-smokers were treated with ß-escin (1 µM) and exposed to 5% CSE. After 6- or 24-hours of stimulation cell viability, DNA damage, ALDH activity and mRNA expression of ALDH isoforms were examined. RESULTS: 24 h ß-escin stimulation revised CSE induced cytotoxicity and DNA damage. Cells cultured with ß-escin or exposed to CSE responded with strong increase in ALDH activity. This effect was more pronounced in cultures treated with combination of ß-escin and CSE. The strongest stimulatory effect on ALDH isoform mRNA expression was observed in cells cultured simultaneously with ß-escin and CSE: at 6 h for ALDH1A1 and ALDH3A1, and at 24 h for ALDH1A3, ALDH3A2, ALDH3B1, and ALDH18A1. Combined ß-escin and CSE treatment prevented the CSE-induced inhibition of ALDH2 expression at 24 h. CONCLUSIONS: ß-escin is an effective ALDH stimulatory and cytoprotective agent and might be useful in the prevention or supportive treatment of tobacco smoke-related diseases.

Validation of the Polish version of Severe Respiratory Insufficiency Questionnaire.

INTRODUCTION: Improvement in the quality of life (QoL) is an essential outcome in patients with chronic respiratory failure (CRF). However, its reliable and comparative assessment is difficult in this highly heterogeneous group of patients. Severe Respiratory Insufficiency Questionnaire (SRI) has shown to have high psychometric properties to measure specific health-related QoL in patients with CRF due to different pathologies. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to validate the Polish version of the SRI. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Polish version of the SRI was created according to the procedure of translation and back­ translation of the original version. Patients with CRF treated with long­term oxygen therapy (LTOT) or home mechanical ventilation (HMV) were invited to the study. Polish SRI and 36­ Item Short Form Health Survey (SF­36) questionnaires were completed during 2 consecutive visits scheduled at a 2-4 week interval. The results were statistically tested for validity, viability, and reliability. The time and ability of completing, sociodemographic and clinical data were recorded. RESULTS: A total of 113 patients were enrolled. Seventy­ five participants (66%) completed the questionnaires without any assistance. A significant concurrent validity was confirmed by a correlation analysis between the SRI and the SF­36 scales. An exploratory factor analysis explained 69% of the variance of the questionnaire. High internal consistency was proved by the Cronbach α coefficient 0.951 for the Summary Scale. Repeatability was very high for all subscales (intraclass correlation coefficient, 0.871-0.915) and for the summary score (0.923, P <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that the Polish version of the SRI is valid, reliable, and reproducible and may be used in research involving CRF.

Polish recommendations for lung ultrasound in internal medicine (POLLUS-IM).

The aim of this study was to establish recommendations for the use of lung ultrasound in internal medicine, based on reliable data and expert opinions. Methods: The bibliography from the databases (Pubmed, Medline, OVID, Embase) has been fully reviewed up to August 2017. Members of the expert group assessed the credibility of the literature data. Then, in three rounds, a discussion was held on individual recommendations (in accordance with the Delphi procedure) followed by secret voting. Thirty-eight recommendations for the use of lung ultrasound in internal medicine were established as well as discussed and subjected to secret voting in three rounds. The first 31 recommendations concerned the use of ultrasound in the diagnosis of the following conditions: pneumothorax, pulmonary consolidation, pneumonia, atelectasis, pulmonary embolism, malignant neoplastic lesions, interstitial lung lesions, cardiogenic pulmonary edema, interstitial lung diseases with fibrosis, dyspnea, pleural pain and acute cough. Furthermore, seven additional statements were made regarding the technical conditions of lung ultrasound examination and the need for training in the basics of lung ultrasound in a group of doctors during their specialization programs and medical students. The panel of experts established a consensus on all 38 recommendations.