Publications by authors named "M O Sowho"

Dynamic heterogeneity in lung ventilation is an important measure of pulmonary function and may be characteristic of early pulmonary disease. While standard indices like spirometry, body plethysmography, and blood gases have been utilized to assess lung function, they do not provide adequate information on regional ventilatory distribution nor function assessments of ventilation during the respiratory cycle. Emerging technologies such as xenon CT, volumetric CT, functional MRI and X-ray velocimetry can assess regional ventilation using non-invasive radiographic methods that may complement current methods of assessing lung function.

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  • The study aimed to investigate how self-identified race affects sleep quality among heavy smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), focusing on participants from different racial backgrounds.* -
  • The research involved analyzing data from 2,427 participants using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) to measure sleep quality, while adjusting for factors like demographics, health status, and socioeconomic variables.* -
  • Results indicated that African American participants experienced worse sleep quality compared to non-Hispanic Whites, with factors like income, depression, and sex also influencing sleep quality outcomes.*
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Background: Allergic rhinitis affects approximately 10% to 20% of people living in industrialized nations leading to significant morbidity and large health care expenditures. Individualized high-dose, single-species allergen immunotherapy has been found to be effective in treating allergic rhinitis but can be associated with significant risks including anaphylaxis. Few studies have evaluated the safety and efficacy of universal low-dose multiallergen immunotherapy (MAIT).

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  • - Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common in obese children with asthma, but current screening methods are not very accurate; the study aimed to identify specific survey questions that correlate with OSA in this group.
  • - The study involved participants completing a survey, undergoing polysomnography, and measuring their body mass index z-score; a score above 0.33 indicated a high risk for OSA, and it was found that loud snoring, morning dry mouth, and being overweight were key indicators of OSA.
  • - Results showed a prevalence of OSA at 40% among the children studied; while the overall survey had moderate predictive values, the body mass index z-score alone proved to be a more effective screening
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Recent reports suggest that self-reported snoring, which is a feature of obstructive sleep apnea, is associated with aortic enlargement in Marfan syndrome (MFS). Objective assessment of snoring although lacking, could provide a rational for OSA screening in MFS patients. Our goal in this study was to examine the association between objective measurements of snoring with OSA and aortic size in persons with MFS.

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