Publications by authors named "Fabio E Arimura"

Article Synopsis
  • Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) can present in two forms—sporadic (S-LAM) and associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC-LAM)—and the study aims to compare their clinical and functional differences.
  • A total of 107 patients were analyzed between 1994 and 2019, revealing that while TSC-LAM patients had more associated health issues, both groups had similar pulmonary function tests.
  • The study found that S-LAM patients experience a greater decline in lung function and more lung cysts, while TSC-LAM impacts quality of life more significantly, especially regarding vitality and emotional health.
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Background: Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) are seen in up to 60% of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), some of which will progress to have a significant impact on morbidity and mortality rates. Better characterization of progressive interstitial changes and identification of risk factors that are associated with progression may enable earlier intervention and improved outcomes.

Research Question: What are baseline characteristics associated with RA-ILD progression?

Study Design And Methods: We performed a retrospective study in which all clinically indicated CT chest scans in adult individuals with RA from 2014 to 2016 were evaluated for interstitial changes, and the data were further subdivided into ILA and ILD based on clinical record review.

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Introduction: Serum vascular endothelial growth factor-D (VEGF-D) is a lymphangiogenic growth factor that is considered a valuable tool in the diagnosis of lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). Previous studies have reported a wide variability in VEGF-D serum levels in LAM patients and it seems to be associated with pulmonary impairment and lymphatic involvement.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study from 2009 to 2017 that evaluated VEGF-D serum levels in a cohort of LAM patients who were never treated with mTOR inhibitors and compared them to healthy age-matched volunteers.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a rare lung disease caused by the accumulation of surfactant due to insufficient macrophage activity, and its main treatment is whole-lung lavage (WLL).
  • A retrospective study followed 12 PAP patients in Brazil from 2002 to 2016, revealing that most were diagnosed through bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and that patients had an average of 2.8 WLL procedures, with some experiencing complications and infections.
  • The study highlighted an 82% five-year survival rate among patients, indicating that WLL is effective for symptomatic cases, although care must be taken to prevent infections during treatment.
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The various organogenic programs deployed during embryonic development rely on the precise expression of a multitude of genes in time and space. Identifying the cis-regulatory elements responsible for this tightly orchestrated regulation of gene expression is an essential step in understanding the genetic pathways involved in development. We describe a strategy to systematically identify tissue-specific cis-regulatory elements that share combinations of sequence motifs.

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