Factors associated with improvements in subjective symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome after continuous positive airway pressure therapy.

Purpose: Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy improves subjective symptoms in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients; however, factors predicting symptom improvement post-CPAP therapy and the CPAP duration necessary for improving subjective symptoms are unclear. This study aimed to identify these factors and the appropriate nightly CPAP duration for improving subjective symptoms.

Methods: We recruited 359 subjects who completed both overnight polysomnography and subjective symptom assessments using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), Zung Self-Depression Scale (SDS), and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI).

Effects of long-term cigarette smoke exposure on bone metabolism, structure, and quality in a mouse model of emphysema.

Smoking is a common risk factor for both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and osteoporosis. In patients with COPD, severe emphysema is a risk factor for vertebral fracture; however, the effects of smoking or emphysema on bone health remain largely unknown. We report bone deterioration in a mouse model of emphysema induced by nose-only cigarette smoke (CS) exposure.

Association between severity of obstructive sleep apnea and glycated hemoglobin level in Japanese individuals with and without diabetes.

Aim of this study was to examine the association between the severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and dysglycemia in Japanese individuals with and without type 2 diabetes (T2DM). We enrolled 115 individuals diagnosed with OSA with an apnea hypopnea-index (AHI) ≥ 20 in whom continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy was introduced (N = 115, 44 with T2DM, age 62 ± 11 years, BMI 27.0 ± 4.

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome should be considered as a cause of nocturia in younger patients without other voiding symptoms.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate urination frequency among patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and the effect of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment.

Methods: We evaluated 138 men with moderate-to-severe OSAS by using polysomnography. Urination status was assessed at baseline and three months using the International Prostate Symptom Score and Overactive Bladder Symptom Score.

Impact of mild exacerbation on COPD symptoms in a Japanese cohort.

Background: Patients with COPD might not report mild exacerbation. The frequency, risk factors, and impact of mild exacerbation on COPD status are unknown.

Objectives: The present study was performed to compare features between mild exacerbation and moderate or severe exacerbation in Japanese patients with COPD.

Determinants of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease severity in the late-elderly differ from those in younger patients.

Background: Although the age range of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients is broad, few studies have focused on the effects of age on disease characteristics.

Methods: Keio University and affiliated hospitals established an observational COPD cohort. Patients were assessed using high resolution computed tomography (CT) to quantify emphysema, health status using the COPD assessment test (CAT) and the St.

Pneumococcal Infection Aggravates Elastase-Induced Emphysema via Matrix Metalloproteinase 12 Overexpression.

Background: Acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)--typically caused by bacterial or viral infection--is associated with poor prognosis and emphysema progression through unknown mechanisms. We aimed to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the poor prognosis and emphysema progression associated with COPD exacerbation.

Methods: We established a mouse model mimicking acute human COPD exacerbation, wherein mice with elastase-induced emphysema were intranasally infected with Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Dry pleurisy complicating solitary pulmonary nodules caused by Mycobacterium avium: a case report.

Introduction: Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) lung disease presenting as a solitary pulmonary nodule (MAC-SPN) is often asymptomatic, is more common in middle to old age, and mimics lung cancer or tuberculoma. We report herein a case of MAC-SPN in an immunocompetent young adult patient, presenting with persistent chest pain and a subacutely progressive nodule with high intense (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake. Histological examination of resected specimens revealed pleurisy, which is a rare finding of MAC-SPN.

Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome due to Mycobacterium avium complex successfully followed up using 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography in a patient with human immunodeficiency virus infection: A case report.

Background: In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS) due to nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infection is one of the most difficult types of IRIS to manage. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) has been suggested as a useful tool for evaluating the inflammatory status of HIV-infected patients. We present the first case of Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC)-associated IRIS (MAC-IRIS) that was successfully followed up using 18F-FDG PET/CT.

The reasons for triple therapy in stable COPD patients in Japanese clinical practice.

Background: Triple combination therapy involving long-acting muscarinic antagonists long-acting β2 agonists, and inhaled corticosteroids has recently become an option for maintenance treatment of COPD. Some add-on clinical trials have reported the benefits of these combinations. However, the process to step up to triple therapy varies for individual cases.

Evaluation of cigarette smoke-induced emphysema in mice using quantitative micro-computed tomography.

Chronic cigarette smoke (CS) exposure provokes variable changes in the lungs, and emphysema is an important feature of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The usefulness of micro-computed tomography (CT) to assess emphysema in different mouse models has been investigated, but few studies evaluated the dynamic structural changes in a CS-induced emphysema mouse model. A novel micro-CT technique with respiratory and cardiac gating has resulted in high-quality images that enable processing for further quantitative and qualitative analyses.

Polymorphism of LRP5 gene and emphysema severity are associated with osteoporosis in Japanese patients with or at risk for COPD.

Background And Objective: Osteoporosis is an important systemic comorbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, neither its mechanisms nor its risk factors have been fully elucidated. With regard to genetic factors, low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 5 (LRP5) A1330V is known to be associated with osteoporosis in the general population, but the influence of this polymorphism in COPD is unknown.

Tuberous sclerosis diagnosed by incidental computed tomography findings of multifocal micronodular pneumocyte hyperplasia: a case report.

Introduction: The majority of multifocal micronodular pneumocyte hyperplasia associated with tuberous sclerosis complex is diagnosed with the classical clinical triad of seizures, mental retardation, and skin lesions. We report a rare case of tuberous sclerosis complex with no classical clinical findings, which was diagnosed through incidental computed tomography findings of multiple nodular lesions of multifocal micronodular pneumocyte hyperplasia.

Case Presentation: A chest computed tomography scan of a 51-year-old Japanese woman showed multiple nodular ground-glass opacities that were not seen on chest X-ray.

[Early diagnosis of metastatic spinal tumor is a key for effective palliative radiotherapy in patients with lung cancer].

Patients with metastatic spinal tumor are the largest in number among the patients with bone tumor. It causes a severe bone pain, pathological fracture and spinal cord compression. Thus it harshly hampers patient's quality of life.