The role of sphingolipid metabolism disruption on lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury in mice.

Aim: This study assessed pulmonary outcomes generated by inhibiting key enzymes of sphingolipid metabolism pathways related to ceramide synthesis in a murine model of lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Methods: C57BL/6 male adult mice received LPS intratracheally and the expressions of acid sphingomyelinase (ASM), neutral sphingomyelinase (NSM), serine palmitoyl transferase (SPT) and dihydroceramide synthase (DS) were assessed at 2, 4, 6, 12 and 24 h after LPS instillation in lung homogenate (n = 30). The pharmacological inhibition of ASM, NSM, SPT and DS were assayed in other mice groups by three different doses of desipramine, GW4869, myriocin and fumonisin, respectively (n = 90).

Intratracheal instillation of coal and coal fly ash particles in mice induces DNA damage and translocation of metals to extrapulmonary tissues.

Continuous exposure to coal mining particles can cause a variety of lung diseases. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of exposure to detailed characterized coal and coal fly ash (CFA) particles on DNA, lung and extrapulmonary tissues. Coal samples (COAL11 and COAL16) and CFA samples (CFA11 and CFA16) were included in this study.

Alternative Indexes to Estimate the Functional Capacity From the 6-Minute Walk Test in Children and Adolescents With Cystic Fibrosis.

Background: Cystic fibrosis is a multi-systemic disease related to reduced functional capacity. The distance covered in the 6-min walk test (6MWT) has been known to assess functional capacity, but little is known about other indexes that can be derived. We sought to compare the performance during the 6MWT and the estimated indexes of functional capacity from the 6MWT between subjects with cystic fibrosis (CF) and healthy individuals as well as to assess the relationship among these indexes and disease severity, pulmonary function, and nutritional status in CF.

Eucalyptol attenuates cigarette smoke-induced acute lung inflammation and oxidative stress in the mouse.

Short-term cigarette smoke (CS) exposure does not cause emphysema; however, some pathogenesis hallmarks are maintained, such as oxidative stress and inflammation. This study aimed to test the efficacy of eucalyptol against short-term CS exposure in mice. C57BL/6 mice were exposed to 12 cigarettes per day for 5 days (CS group).

Influence of thoracic spine postural disorders on cardiorespiratory parameters in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis.

Objectives: To assess the impact of increased thoracic kyphosis on pulmonary function and functional capacity in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF) and to verify the influence of disease severity, age and nutritional status on this deformity.

Method: This was a cross-sectional, analytical study conducted at a university hospital. It included CF patients with confirmed diagnosis and without pulmonary exacerbation.

Exercise capacity, respiratory mechanics and posture in mouth breathers.

Unlabelled: Chronic and persistent mouth or oral breathing (OB) has been associated with postural changes. Although posture changes in OB causes decreased respiratory muscle strength, reduced chest expansion and impaired pulmonary ventilation with consequences in the exercise capacity, few studies have verified all these assumptions.

Objective: To evaluate exercise tolerance, respiratory muscle strength and body posture in oral breathing (OB) compared with nasal breathing (NB) children.

Mouth breathing and forward head posture: effects on respiratory biomechanics and exercise capacity in children.

Objective: To evaluate submaximal exercise tolerance and respiratory muscle strength in relation to forward head posture (FHP) and respiratory mode in children, comparing mouth-breathing (MB) children with nasal-breathing (NB) children.

Methods: This was a controlled, analytical cross-sectional study involving children in the 8-12 year age bracket with a clinical otorhinolaryngology diagnosis of MB, recruited between October of 2010 and January of 2011 from the Mouth Breather Clinic at the State University of Campinas Hospital de Clínicas, located in the city of Campinas, Brazil. The exclusion criteria were obesity, asthma, chronic respiratory diseases, heart disease, and neurological or orthopedic disorders.