The effect of an oral anti-oxidant, N-Acetyl-cysteine, on inflammatory and oxidative markers in pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Background: Oxidative stress (OS) has been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis and previous studies have shown that anti-oxidants can reduce markers of oxidative stress and inflammation in the peripheral blood of sarcoidosis subjects. We investigated the effect of N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC) on oxidative stress and inflammatory markers in the lungs of sarcoidosis patients.

Methods: We randomized 11 sarcoidosis subjects to active therapy and 3 to placebo for 8 weeks in a double blinded study.

Measurement of bacterial ingestion and killing by macrophages.

This unit presents assays that allow accurate measurement of phagocytosis and killing of bacteria by macrophages. The first basic protocol describes how to measure the ability of macrophages to ingest bacteria. Importantly, because macrophage phagocytosis entails separate binding and internalization steps, assays are described here that will also determine the extent to which bacteria bound to the macrophage are in fact internalized.

Disease severity, scratching, and sleep quality in patients with atopic dermatitis.

Background: The relationship between sleep quality and disease severity in patients with atopic dermatitis has not been clearly defined.

Methods: Sleep efficiency and scratching were measured over 2 nights by polysomnography, actigraphy, and self-report in 20 adults with atopic dermatitis. Tumor necrosis factor, interleukin (IL)-6, and IL-10 were assayed from a subset of 9 participants.