Should we routinely assess hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis in pediatric patients with Prader-Willi syndrome?

Background: It has been reported that central adrenal insufficiency (CAI) in pediatric patients (pts) with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) may be a potential cause of their sudden death. In addition, the risk of CAI may increase during treatment with recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH).

Objective: To prevent both over- and undertreatment with hydrocortisone, we evaluated the prevalence of CAI in a large multicenter cohort of pediatric pts with PWS analyzing adrenal response in the low-dose ACTH test (LDAT) and/or the glucagon stimulation test (GST) and reviewing the literature.

Artificial neural network identifies nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs exacerbated respiratory disease (N-ERD) cohort.

Background: To date, there has been no reliable in vitro test to either diagnose or differentiate nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-exacerbated respiratory disease (N-ERD). The aim of the present study was to develop and validate an artificial neural network (ANN) for the prediction of N-ERD in patients with asthma.

Methods: This study used a prospective database of patients with N-ERD (n = 121) and aspirin-tolerant (n = 82) who underwent aspirin challenge from May 2014 to May 2018.

Decarboxylative, trienamine mediated cycloaddition for the synthesis of 3,4-dihydrocoumarin derivatives.

In this Communication, a new approach for trienamine chemistry is described. It is based on the application of carboxylic-acid-activated dienophiles that undergo spontaneous decarboxylative protonation after the initial [4 + 2]-cycloaddition step. The utilization of such a novel cascade reaction for the synthesis of biologically relevant 3,4-dihydrocoumarins has been demonstrated.

Prostaglandin E decrease in induced sputum of hypersensitive asthmatics during oral challenge with aspirin.

Background: A special regulatory role for prostaglandin E (PGE ) has been postulated in nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-exacerbated respiratory disease (NERD).

Objective: To investigate the effect of systemic aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) administration on airway PGE biosynthesis in induced sputum supernatant (ISS) among subjects with NERD or aspirin-tolerant asthma with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (ATA-CRSwNP), as well as healthy controls (HC).

Methods: Induced sputum (IS) was collected from patients with NERD (n = 26), ATA-CRSwNP (n = 17), and HC (n = 21) at baseline and after aspirin challenge.