Polyhexamethylene Guanidine Phosphate Induces Restrictive Ventilation Defect and Alters Lung Resistance and Compliance in Mice.

Polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate (PHMG-p), a major ingredient of humidifier disinfectants, is known to induce inflammation, interstitial pneumonitis, and fibrosis in the lungs. While its histopathologic toxicities have been studied in rodents, research on pulmonary function test (PFT) changes following PHMG-p exposure is limited. This study aimed to investigate the acute and chronic effects, as well as the dose and time response, of PHMG-p on the lungs in mice using PFT and histopathologic examinations.

A comparison of digital tomosynthesis and chest radiography in evaluating airway lesions using computed tomography as a reference.

Objectives: To compare the diagnostic performance of digital tomosynthesis (DTS) and chest radiography for detecting airway abnormalities, using computed tomography (CT) as a reference.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated 161 data sets from 149 patients (91 with and 70 without airway abnormalities) who had undergone radiography, DTS, and CT to detect airway problems. Radiographs and DTS were evaluated to localize and score the severity of the airway abnormalities, and to score the image quality using CT as a reference.

Usefulness of Digital Tomosynthesis for the Detection of Airway Obstruction: A Case Report of Bronchial Carcinosarcoma.

Bronchial carcinosarcoma is a very rare malignant tumor that is composed of carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements. We describe the first case in which digital tomosynthesis was useful for the evaluation of airway obstruction by bronchial carcinosarcoma that was overlooked on initial chest radiography.

Localized pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: two case reports.

Background: Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a relatively rare disease characterized by abnormal accumulation of surfactant-like material in the alveolar spaces. The classic radiologic findings of PAP include bilateral, symmetric, diffuse ground-glass opacity (GGO) or consolidation. The most common computed tomography (CT) feature of PAP is widespread GGO with thickened interlobular septa, the so-called crazy-paving pattern, which strongly suggests the diagnosis.

Effect of remote ischemic post-conditioning on systemic inflammatory response and survival rate in lipopolysaccharide-induced systemic inflammation model.

Background: Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) and postconditioning (RpostC) have protective effects on ischemia and reperfusion injury. The effects have been reported to activate heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and attenuate nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and subsequently reduce systemic inflammation. Ischemic preconditioning prevented inflammatory responses by modulating HO-1 expression in endotoxic shock model.

Increase in serum haptoglobin and apolipoprotein M in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common syndrome, which is associated with a number of medical problems that impact morbidity and mortality. Although the precise mechanisms that underlie these associations are not fully understood, previous studies have suggested that patients with OSA show elevations of several biomarkers that are associated with cardiovascular risk. This study was undertaken to identify serum proteins associated with OSA by using a proteomics technique and to examine changes in identified protein levels after continuous positive airway pressure treatment.

Primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma presenting with a hemothorax.

Primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma is an extremely rare condition that is difficult to diagnose. In this report, we describe a case of primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma that presented with a hemothorax, initially diagnosed as an ectopic pregnancy. The patient was treated successfully with surgery followed by combination chemotherapy.

Prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness and associated factors in the adult population of Korea.

Objective: Information on the prevalence and correlates of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is limited for Asians. We determined the prevalence of EDS and its associated factors in the adult population of Korea.

Subjects And Methods: The subjects consisted of 4405 Koreans aged 40-69 years from the Korean Genome Epidemiology Study, which is an ongoing prospective population-based study.

Association of snoring with chronic bronchitis.

Background: Snoring is more prevalent in patients with chronic bronchitis than in persons without it. Few studies have examined the effect of snoring on chronic bronchitis. We prospectively investigated the association between snoring and the incidence of chronic bronchitis.

Habitual snoring is associated with elevated hemoglobin A1c levels in non-obese middle-aged adults.

Hemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) is an indicator of long-term glycemic control. The purpose of this study was to determine whether habitual snoring is associated with increased HbA(1c) levels in non-obese and normoglycemic middle-aged men and women. A total of 6981 subjects (3362 men and 3619 women) aged 40-69 years from the Korean Health and Genome Study were examined for the study.

Association between C-reactive protein and QTc interval in middle-aged men and women.

Background: Both of prolonged QT interval and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are known to be risk factors of cardiovascular disease. To our knowledge, few studies have reported the direct relationship between CRP levels and the QT interval in middle-aged population. The objective of the present study was to examine the association of CRP level with QT interval.

Short-term incidence rate of hypertension in Korea middle-aged adults.

Objectives: Despite recent increasing trends in cardiovascular morbidities and mortality in Asia, studies on short-term changes in cardiovascular risks remain limited. This study estimated 2-year incidence rates of hypertension in middle-aged Korean adults aged 40-69 years, and investigated the impact of baseline levels of blood pressure, body mass index, and other conventional risk factors on the progression to hypertension.

Methods: Blood pressures of participants were evaluated twice with a 2-year interval, measured by mercury sphygmomanometer according to the standardized protocol.

Relation of habitual snoring with components of metabolic syndrome in Korean adults.

Aims: To examine the association between habitual snoring and components of the metabolic syndrome in Korean adults. Whether these associations are independent of obesity was also explored.

Methods: Four thousand five hundred and six men and 5041 women aged 40-69 years from the Korean Health and Genome Study were examined.

Prevalence and correlates of excessive daytime sleepiness in high school students in Korea.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) and its associations with sleep habits, sleep problems, and school performance in high school students in South Korea. A total of 3871 students (2703 boys and 1168 girls with a mean age of 16.8 years and 16.

Association of habitual snoring with glucose and insulin metabolism in nonobese Korean adult men.

Habitual snoring is associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and metabolic abnormalities such as impaired glucose homeostasis. Many studies were performed in obese Western populations. The purpose of this study was to examine the association of habitual snoring with glucose and insulin metabolism in nonobese Korean men who were free of diabetes and hypertension.

Relation of epidermal growth factor receptor expression to mucus hypersecretion in diffuse panbronchiolitis.

Study Object: Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) is a hypersecretory airway disease, and the mechanism of mucus hypersecretion in DPB is poorly understood. Moreover, mucin synthesis in the airways has been reported to be regulated by neutrophilic inflammation-induced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression, and the degranulation of goblet cells is known to be mediated by neutrophilic elastase. In this study, we examined the relationship between EGFR expression in the bronchiolar epithelium with neutrophilic inflammation and mucus hypersecretion in the tissues of DPB patients.

Prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in middle-aged Korean men and women.

With many epidemiologic studies made to establish the prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) in Western countries, no such data have been reported in Korea. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of SDB and OSAS, and their related factors in Korean adults aged 40-69 years. Among the total of 5,020 participants at the baseline examination of the Korean Health and Genome Study, a random sample of 457 men and women was studied with employment of overnight full polysomnography to determine the prevalence of SDB and OSAS.