Twelve barriers to COPD diagnosis in France: a comparative qualitative study.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common treatable disease often diagnosed in patients with risk factors after a prolonged period with suggestive symptoms. Our qualitative study aimed to identify barriers to establishing diagnosis in the natural history of this condition.

Methods: An inductive thematic analysis was performed on structured interviews with patients, general practitioners (GPs) and pulmonologists in France.

Improvement in severe asthma patients receiving biologics and factors associated with persistent insufficient control: a real-life national study.

Background: Biological therapies have revolutionized the treatment of severe asthma with type 2 inflammation. Although such treatments are very effective in reducing exacerbation and the dose of oral steroids, little is known about the persistence of symptoms in severe asthma patients treated with biologics.

Purpose: We aim to describe asthma control and healthcare consumption of severe asthma patients treated with biologics.

The determinants of dyspnoea evaluated by the mMRC scale: The French Palomb cohort.

Introduction And Objective: Dyspnoea is a major symptom in COPD patients, but the determinants that could be associated with a higher dyspnoea mMRC score in COPD patients remain unclear. Our research aimed to study the determinants of dyspnoea at the threshold of 1, 2, 3 and 4 mMRC.

Patients And Methods: Diagnosis of COPD was made using spirometry with post-bronchodilator FEVFVC<70%.

Susceptibility to frequent exacerbation in COPD patients: Impact of the exacerbations history, vaccinations and comorbidities?

Introduction: Exacerbations are key events in the natural history of COPD, but our understanding of their longitudinal determinants remains unclear. We used data from a large observational study to test the hypothesis that vaccination status and comorbidities could be associated with the occurrence of exacerbations profile.

Methods: Diagnosed COPD patients have been included by their pulmonologists, with up to 3 years of follow-up.

Building a consumer market for ethanol-methanol cooking fuel in Lagos, Nigeria.

A recently completed randomized controlled study in Nigeria that transitioned pregnant women from traditional fuels to ethanol in their cook stoves demonstrated improved pregnancy outcomes in mothers and children. We subsequently conducted a pilot study of 30 households in Lagos, Nigeria, to determine the acceptability of blended ethanol/methanol as cooking fuel and willingness to pay for the Clean Cook stove. A third of the pilot participants expressed a willingness to purchase the stove for the minimum price of 42 USD or more.

Comorbidities and COPD severity in a clinic-based cohort.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality around the world. The aim of our study was to determine the association between specific comorbidities and COPD severity.

Methods: Pulmonologists included patients with COPD using a web-site questionnaire.

Eating Behaviors: Prevalence, Psychiatric Comorbidity, and Associations With Body Mass Index Among Male and Female Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans.

Objective: There is a dearth of research examining eating behaviors, such as binge eating, among male and female veterans. The present study evaluated the prevalence of self-reported eating problems as well as associations with body mass index and psychiatric disorders among male and female Iraq and Afghanistan veterans.

Methods: Participants were 298 male and 364 female veterans (M = 33.

Selective dysfunction of p53 for mitochondrial biogenesis induces cellular proliferation in bronchial smooth muscle from asthmatic patients.

Background: Increase of bronchial smooth muscle (BSM) mass is a crucial feature of asthma remodeling. The mechanisms of such an increased BSM mass are complex but involve enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis, leading to increased proliferation of BSM cells in asthmatic patients. The major tumor suppressor protein p53 is a key cell regulator involved in cell proliferation and has also been implicated in mitochondrial biogenesis.

Blood fibrocytes are recruited during acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease through a CXCR4-dependent pathway.

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by peribronchial fibrosis. The chronic course of COPD is worsened by recurrent acute exacerbations.

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the recruitment of blood fibrocytes in patients with COPD during exacerbations and, subsequently, to identify potential mechanisms implicated in such recruitment.

Bronchial Smooth Muscle Remodeling in Nonsevere Asthma.

Rationale: Increased bronchial smooth muscle (BSM) mass is a key feature of airway remodeling that classically distinguishes severe from nonsevere asthma. Proliferation of BSM cells involves a specific mitochondria-dependent pathway in individuals with severe asthma. However, BSM remodeling and mitochondrial biogenesis have not been examined in nonsevere asthma.

Impact of non-diet approaches on attitudes, behaviors, and health outcomes: a systematic review.

Objective: To determine the overall effect of non-diet, weight-neutral interventions on factors such as weight, biochemical measures, food and activity behavior, body image, and mental health.

Design: Systematic review of intervention literature.

Setting: Group classes in community and worksite settings (14 studies), and individual counseling (1) and online education (1) in college settings.

Calcium channel blocker reduces airway remodeling in severe asthma. A proof-of-concept study.

Rationale: Severe asthma is a major public health issue throughout the world. Increased bronchial smooth muscle (BSM) mass, a characteristic feature of airway remodeling in severe asthma, is associated with resistance to high-intensity treatment and poor prognosis. In vitro, the Ca(2+)-channel blocker gallopamil decreased the proliferation of BSM cells from patients with severe asthma.

Protease activated receptor-2 expression and function in asthmatic bronchial smooth muscle.

Asthmatic bronchial smooth muscle (BSM) is characterized by structural remodeling associated with mast cell infiltration displaying features of chronic degranulation. Mast cell-derived tryptase can activate protease activated receptor type-2 (PAR-2) of BSM cells. The aims of the present study were (i) to evaluate the expression of PAR-2 in both asthmatic and non asthmatic BSM cells and, (ii) to analyze the effect of prolonged stimulation of PAR-2 in asthmatic BSM cells on cell signaling and proliferation.

Breathing variability and brainstem serotonergic loss in a genetic model of multiple system atrophy.

Breathing disorders like sleep apnea, stridor, and dysrythmic breathing are frequent in patients with multiple system atrophy (MSA). These observations have been related to neurodegeneration in several pontomedullary respiratory nuclei and may explain the occurrence of sudden death. In this study, we sought to determine whether these functional and neuropathological characteristics could be replicated in a transgenic model of MSA.

Ultrashort-TE MRI longitudinal study and characterization of a chronic model of asthma in mice: inflammation and bronchial remodeling assessment.

Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR), bronchial inflammation and remodeling. The great improvements in (1)H MRI ultrashort-TE (UTE) sequences in the last decade have allowed lung images with high-resolution and good signal-to-noise ratio to be obtained in parenchymal tissues. In this article, we present a UTE (1)H MRI high-resolution study of a chronic model of asthma in mice with the aim to longitudinally assess the main features of asthma using a fully noninvasive approach.

Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel-3.1 blocker TRAM-34 attenuates airway remodeling and eosinophilia in a murine asthma model.

Key features of asthma include bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR), eosinophilic airway inflammation, and bronchial remodeling, characterized by subepithelial collagen deposition, airway fibrosis, and increased bronchial smooth muscle (BSM) mass. The calcium-activated K(+) channel K(Ca)3.1 is expressed by many cells implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma, and is involved in both inflammatory and remodeling responses in a number of tissues.

CT attenuation of the bronchial wall in patients with asthma: comparison with geometric parameters and correlation with function and histologic characteristics.

Objective: The purposes of this study were to compare airway wall attenuation in subjects with asthma and subjects without asthma; to correlate this value with pulmonary function test results, standard bronchial CT parameters, and immunohistologic data; and to identify CT parameters that influence obstructive indexes.

Subjects And Methods: Bronchial airway wall attenuation was averaged over four bronchi in 27 subjects with asthma and 15 control subjects without asthma. The following five standard bronchial parameters also were assessed: lumen area, wall area, wall thickness, wall-to-lumen area ratio, and wall-to-total area ratio (wall area percentage).

In vivo micro-CT assessment of airway remodeling in a flexible OVA-sensitized murine model of asthma.

Airway remodeling is a major pathological feature of asthma. Up to now, its quantification still requires invasive methods. In this study, we aimed at determining whether in vivo micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) is able to demonstrate allergen-induced airway remodeling in a flexible mouse model of asthma.

Role of YKL-40 in bronchial smooth muscle remodeling in asthma.

Rationale: Bronchial remodeling, including increased bronchial smooth muscle (BSM) mass, contributes to bronchial obstruction in asthma. However, its mechanisms are complex and remain controversial. Recently, a role of the chitinase 3-like 1 protein (YKL-40) has been evoked in asthma.

The pivotal role of airway smooth muscle in asthma pathophysiology.

Asthma is characterized by the association of airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), inflammation, and remodelling. The aim of the present article is to review the pivotal role of airway smooth muscle (ASM) in the pathophysiology of asthma. ASM is the main effector of AHR.

Position of the American Dietetic Association: nutrition intervention in the treatment of eating disorders.

It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that nutrition intervention, including nutritional counseling by a registered dietitian (RD), is an essential component of team treatment of patients with anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and other eating disorders (EDs) during assessment and treatment across the continuum of care. Diagnostic criteria for EDs provide important guidelines for identification and treatment. In addition, individuals may experience disordered eating that extends along a range from food restriction to partial conditions to diagnosed EDs.

[Pathophysiology of asthma].

Asthma pathophysiology involves bronchial hyperreactivity, inflammation and remodelling, these features being closely linked. Bronchial hyperreactivity is characterized by an excessive airway response to a wide range of stimuli. Bronchial inflammation is characterized by an infiltration of all layers of the bronchial wall by a variety of inflammatory cells, especially mast cells, lymphocytes and eosinophils.