Defining the "Frequent Exacerbator" Phenotype in COPD: A Hypothesis-Free Approach.

Background: The COPD "frequent exacerbator" phenotype is usually defined by at least two treated exacerbations per year and is associated with a huge impact on patient health. However, existence of this phenotype and corresponding thresholds still need to be formally confirmed by statistical methods analyzing exacerbation profiles with no specific a priori hypothesis. The aim of this study was to confirm the existence of the frequent exacerbator phenotype with an innovative unbiased statistical analysis of prospectively recorded exacerbations.

["EXACO": four year follow-up of exacerbations in a cohort of patients with COPD].

EXACO is a French prospective observational epidemiological study. Chest physicians will enrol 1200 patients who will be followed up for 4 years. The aims of the study are to describe the exacerbations in COPD patients at different levels of severity and to confirm the existence of a sub-group of patients defined as frequent exacerbators.

Magnesium alterations and pharmacokinetic data in gallium-treated lung cancer patients.

The dose of gallium chloride required to inhibit tumor growth after oral and chronic administration depends on the stage of the cancer disease and of the type of metastases. A dose regimen of 800 mg/24 h of gallium chloride will provide serum gallium concentrations greater than or equal to 600 micrograms/l in lung cancer patients with a small and limited disease. A dose of 1,400 mg/24 h is well tolerated in metastatic patients but may not be high enough to reach the desired serum gallium concentrations especially in patients with bone metastases.