Prescribing Patterns for Long-Acting Inhaled Bronchodilators Among Rural Adults With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is prevalent in rural areas of the USA. Long-acting inhaled bronchodilators (LABDs) are a key tool in COPD management and are underutilized. The purpose of this study was to determine whether rates of prescriptions for LABD differed by payer among patients with COPD in a rural healthcare network.

A Case of Concomitant COVID-19 Infection-Induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Diabetic Ketoacidosis: Another Challenge in Fluid Management.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been announced as a pandemic worldwide. The respiratory tract is a target organ system, where infection can result in serious complications, like acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Management of this condition is more challenging in individuals with diabetes who developed diabetic ketoacidosis.

Clinical characteristics of takotsubo cardiomyopathy in north america.

Background: Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (TC) or transient left ventricular apical ballooning syndrome is an acute cardiac syndrome characterized by transient wall motion abnormalities extending beyond a single epicardial vessel in the absence of significant obstructive coronary artery disease.

Aim: This study was to describe the clinical characteristics of TC in North America.

Materials And Methods: We identified 10 patients who met the Mayo Clinic criteria for TC using our Electronic Medical Records.

The Temporal Evolution of Airways Hyperresponsiveness and Inflammation.

Airways hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is usually produced within days of first antigen exposure in mouse models of asthma. Furthermore, continual antigen challenge eventually results in the resolution of the AHR phenotype. Human asthma also waxes and wanes with time, suggesting that studying the time course of AHR in the allergic mouse would offer insights into the variation in symptoms seen in asthmatics.

Asthma treatment through the beta receptor: lessons from animal models.

Asthma is a significant health problem worldwide with a prevalence that continues to rise and for which there is no cure. Animal models have been used for decades to investigate the cause and cures of asthma, and while they do not always mimic many of the facets of this syndrome, mechanistic animal studies are still nevertheless very useful. Animal studies with beta-agonists suggest much broader and perhaps more important roles for beta-agonists since beta-agonists reduce aspects of inflammation and may affect structural remodeling.

Detrimental effects of albuterol on airway responsiveness requires airway inflammation and is independent of β-receptor affinity in murine models of asthma.

Background: Inhaled short acting β2-agonists (SABA), e.g. albuterol, are used for quick reversal of bronchoconstriction in asthmatics.

Inhaled salmeterol and/or fluticasone alters structure/function in a murine model of allergic airways disease.

Background: The relationship between airway structural changes (remodeling) and airways hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is unclear. Asthma guidelines suggest treating persistent asthma with inhaled corticosteroids and long acting beta-agonists (LABA). We examined the link between physiological function and structural changes following treatment fluticasone and salmeterol separately or in combination in a mouse model of allergic asthma.

It's not all smooth muscle: non-smooth-muscle elements in control of resistance to airflow.

To achieve gas exchange, inspired air must pass through an intricate and dynamic tracheobronchial tree. The tree offers resistance to airflow, and increased resistance is the most important functional change in lung disease. Numerous mechanisms contribute to increased resistance by causing airway narrowing, closure, occlusion, and/or obliteration.

Development of allergen-induced airway inflammation in the absence of T-bet regulation is dependent on IL-17.

Dysfunctional expression of T-bet, a transcription factor that is critical for IFN-gamma production, has been implicated in the development of asthma. To investigate in detail the mechanisms responsible for exacerbated disease in the absence of T-bet expression, BALB/c wild-type (WT) and T-bet(-/-) mice were used in a murine model of OVA-induced allergic lung inflammation. Following OVA challenge, T-bet(-/-) mice displayed increased histological inflammation in the lungs as well as greater thickening of the bronchiole linings, increased numbers of eosinophils and neutrophils in the lung, and enhanced airway hyperresponsiveness, compared with WT mice.

Radon awareness and mitigation in Vermont: a public health survey.

Radon exposure is associated with an increased incidence of lung cancer, and elevated levels may be found in as many as 1 out of 15 homes. The U.S.