Serum levels and gene expression of pentraxin 3 are elevated in COPD.

Purpose: Pentraxin 3 (PTX-3) is an acute phase protein that belongs to the pentraxin superfamily. It is synthesized locally at the site of inflammation and its levels are related to the damage of blood vessels. There are only a few studies examining the relationship between PTX-3 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Acute laryngeal dyspnea as first presentation of granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) is a multi-organ disease which mostly affects lungs, kidney, and head and neck region. We report a rare case of acute laryngeal dyspnea and rapidly progressive pulmonary changes as first manifestations of disease. A 53 year-old woman presented with symptoms of two-week dyspnea, which aggravated rapidly in the preceding hours.

Association between asthma control test, pulmonary function tests and non-specific bronchial hyperresponsiveness in assessing the level of asthma control.

Introduction: Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) reports emphasize the use of validated and simple tools in order to assess the level of asthma control, as the Asthma Control Test (ACT). However, an ACT does not include assessment of airway inflammation, which is better reflected when measuring nonspecific bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). The authors aimed to find out if the level of asthma control quantified by an ACT correlates with BHR and pulmonary function tests.

Assessment of leptin and resistin levels in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Introduction: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the most common chronic lung disease in the world. The increasing severity of inflammatory processes in the respiratory tract leads to exacerbation of COPD. This process may be associated with changes in the synthesis of adipokines, the peptides that participate in immune processes.

[Effect of natural allergens exposure on serum concentration of soluble form of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 in patients with seasonal airway allergy].

Unlabelled: Chronic inflammation is a feature of bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis. Intercellular adhesion molecules, especially ICAM-1 and its soluble form sICAM-1 present in systemic liquids play an important role in allergic inflammation. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of natural pollen exposure to plants on serum sICAM-1 concentration in patients with different clinical expression of seasonal allergy and to determine the relation between concentrations of these molecules to clinical symptom score and nonspecific bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR).