Pulmonary exacerbation inflammatory phenotypes in adults with cystic fibrosis.

Background: Adults with cystic fibrosis (CF) develop exuberant inflammatory responses during pulmonary exacerbations (PEx) but whether distinct systemic inflammatory profiles can be identified and whether these associate with disparate treatment outcomes are unclear. We conducted a pilot study to address this question and hypothesized that CF adults with a pauci-inflammatory phenotype might derive less clinical benefit from intravenous (IV) antibiotic treatment than patients with other systemic inflammatory phenotypes.

Methods: Six proteins reflective of systemic inflammation were examined in 37 PEx from 28 unique CF subjects.

IL-8 correlates with reduced baseline femoral neck bone mineral density in adults with cystic fibrosis: a single center retrospective study.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a multi-system disease that is characterized by lung disease due to recurrent airway infection and inflammation. Endocrine complications, such as CF bone disease (CFBD), are increasingly identified as patients are living longer. The cause of CFBD is multifactorial with chronic systemic inflammation theorized to be a contributing factor.

Circulating CRP and calprotectin to diagnose CF pulmonary exacerbations.

Cystic fibrosis (CF) pulmonary exacerbations (PEx) remain underdiagnosed by CF clinicians. Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) and calprotectin are inflammatory biomarkers that have the potential to aid in the diagnosis of PEx. 19 subjects (56 stable, 46 PEx visits) from a longitudinal study were included and the diagnostic performance of absolute and fold-change CRP and calprotectin cut-offs to discriminate stable and PEx visits was assessed.

Duplex Ultrasound for Diagnosis of Failing Stents Placed for Lower Extremity Arterial Occlusive Disease.

Background: Noninvasive diagnostic testing may be beneficial to identify stenotic (failing) stents placed for occlusive lower extremity peripheral arterial disease (LEPAD), especially if subsequent intervention proves useful in maintaining prolonged stent patency. We previously documented the benefit of surveillance duplex ultrasound (DU) for peripheral covered stents (stent grafts). The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether DU can reliably diagnose failing bare metal stents placed in iliac, femoral, and popliteal arteries for LEPAD.

Antiretroviral adherence and the nature of HIV-associated verbal memory impairment.

The authors investigated the relationship between antiretroviral adherence and HIV-associated verbal memory impairment. HIV-positive participants demonstrated poorer verbal memory than HIV-negative participants. Both good (≥90%) and poor (<90%) adherers displayed encoding deficits as compared with controls, but only poor adherers exhibited retrieval deficits.