Differential analysis of genome-wide methylation and gene expression in mesenchymal stem cells of patients with fractures and osteoarthritis.

Insufficient activity of the bone-forming osteoblasts leads to low bone mass and predisposes to fragility fractures. The functional capacity of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), the precursors of osteoblasts, may be compromised in elderly individuals, in relation with the epigenetic changes associated with aging. However, the role of hMSCs in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis is still unclear.

[Rapid resolution of nitrofurantoin-induced interstitial lung disease].

We report the case of a 40-year-old woman diagnosed with interstitial lung disease due to long-term nitrofurantoin therapy. Despite severely distorted bronchiolar architecture and honeycombing confirmed by computed tomography of the thorax, transbronchial biopsy showed a pattern of acute/subacute interstitial pneumonitis and the symptoms and radiographic findings disappeared within 1 month after administration of prednisone. This case shows that nitrofurantoin-induced lung disease may run a benign course and respond favorably to corticosteroids, even when there is radiographic evidence of established lung fibrosis.