Evaluation of Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure by a Formula and Its Role in the Pathogenesis of Glaucoma.

Purpose: To investigate potential associations between intraocular pressure (IOP) and cerebrospinal fluid pressure (CSFP) in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) and healthy subjects.

Methods: Forty-three subjects were recruited. Weight and height were measured to calculate body mass index (BMI), along with blood pressure, heart rate, visual acuity, and IOP.

Alpha-1 antitrypsin supplementation improves alveolar macrophages efferocytosis and phagocytosis following cigarette smoke exposure.

Cigarette smoking (CS), the main risk factor for COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) in developed countries, decreases alveolar macrophages (AM) clearance of both apoptotic cells and bacterial pathogens. This global deficit of AM engulfment may explain why active smokers have worse outcomes of COPD exacerbations, episodes characterized by airway infection and inflammation that carry high morbidity and healthcare cost. When administered as intravenous supplementation, the acute phase-reactant alpha-1 antitrypsin (A1AT) reduces the severity of COPD exacerbations in A1AT deficient (AATD) individuals and of bacterial pneumonia in murine models, but the effect of A1AT on AM scavenging functions has not been reported.