Validation of the Spanish Activity Questionnaire in COPD (SAQ-COPD) in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Purpose: The Spanish Activity Questionnaire in COPD (SAQ-COPD) is a short, simple physical activity (PA) measurement instrument for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this study, we analyzed its validity and sensitivity to change.

Methods: Prospective scale validation study.

Creation of the SAQ-COPD Questionnaire to Determine Physical Activity in COPD Patients in Clinical Practice.

Introduction: Physical activity (PA) is a significant clinical dimension in COPD, but no useful tools are available to determine this variable in routine clinical practice.

Objective: To create a simple, easy-to-use, specific questionnaire to detect PA deficits.

Method: A multidisciplinary panel of COPD experts was formed to review PA, its determinants, and measuring methods.

Discriminant biomarkers of acute respiratory distress syndrome associated to H1N1 influenza identified by metabolomics HPLC-QTOF-MS/MS platform.

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a serious complication of influenza A (H1N1) virus infection. Its pathogenesis is unknown and biomarkers are lacking. Untargeted metabolomics allows the analysis of the whole metabolome in a biological compartment, identifying patterns associated with specific conditions.

Non-invasive monitoring of diaphragmatic timing by means of surface contact sensors: an experimental study in dogs.

Background: Non-invasive monitoring of respiratory muscle function is an area of increasing research interest, resulting in the appearance of new monitoring devices, one of these being piezoelectric contact sensors. The present study was designed to test whether the use of piezoelectric contact (non-invasive) sensors could be useful in respiratory monitoring, in particular in measuring the timing of diaphragmatic contraction.

Methods: Experiments were performed in an animal model: three pentobarbital anesthetized mongrel dogs.

Protein tyrosine nitration in the ventilatory muscles: role of nitric oxide synthases.

Modification of tyrosine residues and formation of 3-nitrotyrosine is one of the most commonly identified effects of reactive nitrogen species on proteins. In this study we evaluated the presence and localization of tyrosine nitration in various ventilatory and limb muscles. We also assessed the contribution of the neuronal (nNOS), the endothelial (eNOS), and the inducible (iNOS) isoforms of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) to tyrosine nitration in skeletal muscles both under normal conditions and in response to severe sepsis.