Cardiovascular Outcomes and All-Cause Mortality in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (Overlap Syndrome).

Rationale: The combined impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on cardiovascular outcomes remains controversial.

Objectives: We determined whether the combined presence of COPD and severe OSA defined by the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) or degree of nocturnal hypoxemia is associated with increased hazards of cardiovascular events and mortality.

Methods: Prospectively collected data from adults with suspected OSA who underwent sleep study between 1994 and 2010 were linked to provincial administrative data to determine a presence of COPD and composite outcome.

Magnitude of exercise capacity and quality of life improvement following repeat pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with COPD.

Background: Maintenance and repeated pulmonary rehabilitation programs (PRPs) for patients with COPD have attempted to prolong PRP benefits beyond 12-24 months. However, there is limited evidence as to the magnitude of benefit or the ideal interval between repeating the program under "real-world" conditions in which patients are referred based on clinical necessity. Therefore, we reviewed the effects of repeating PRP in a physician-referred cohort of patients with COPD.

Oxygen desaturation and adverse events during 6-min walk testing in patients with COPD.

Background And Objective: The 6-min walk test (6MWT) is a simple test assessing functional capacity, but concerns about risks of substantial oxygen desaturation in pulmonary patients have led to non-adherence to the standardised American Thoracic Society guideline. We evaluated the safety of the 6MWT in stable COPD patients and compared the incidence of adverse events in patients with and without substantial exertional hypoxaemia.

Methods: 6MWT data were obtained for 1136 patients with moderate to very severe COPD.

Bin1 SRC homology 3 domain acts as a scaffold for myofiber sarcomere assembly.

In skeletal muscle development, the genes and regulatory factors that govern the specification of myocytes are well described. Despite this knowledge, the mechanisms that regulate the coordinated assembly of myofiber proteins into the functional contractile unit or sarcomere remain undefined. Here we explored the hypothesis that modular domain proteins such as Bin1 coordinate protein interactions to promote sarcomere formation.