Blood purification in two patients with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis associated with interstitial lung disease with anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene-5 antibody (MDA-5).

Patients of clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis associated with rapidly progressive interstitial pneumonia (CADM-RFIP) with positive anti-MDA5 antibody usually presents rapid deterioration and traditional therapy such as cyclophosphamide combined with high-dose prednisone pulse therapy shows no clear benefit at whiles. However, blood purification combined with traditional therapy works according to the literature. We herein report two CADM-RFIP patients administered with DNA immunoadsorption combined with traditional therapy and then reviewed the literature of blood purification in CADM-RFIP patients at home and abroad to date.

Salvianolic acid B protects against paraquat-induced pulmonary injury by mediating Nrf2/Nox4 redox balance and TGF-β1/Smad3 signaling.

The present study was aimed at exploring the protective effects of Salvianolic acid B (SalB) against paraquat (PQ)-induced lung injury in mice. Lung fibrotic injuries were induced in mice by a single intragastrical administration of 300mg/kg PQ, then the mice were administrated with 200mg/kg, 400mg/kg SalB, 100mg/kg vitamin C (Vit C) and dexamethasone (DXM) for 14days. PQ-triggered structure distortion, collagen overproduction, excessive inflammatory infiltration, pro-inflammatory cytokine release, and oxidative stress damages in lung tissues and mortality of mice were attenuated by SalB in a dose-dependent manner.

Nonspecific interstitial pneumonia overlaps organizing pneumonia in lung-dominant connective tissue disease.

Here, we reported two cases of nonspecific interstitial pneumonia overlap organizing pneumonia (NSIP/OP) with lung-dominant connective tissue disease (LD-ILD). The first case is a patient with hands of chapped skin, right-sided pleuritic chest discomfort, weakness, positive ANA and antibodies to Ro/SS-A (+++) and Ro-52 (++). In the second case, there were Reynaud's disease, and nucleolus-ANA increased (1:800).

[The correlation of helper T lymphocyte 1/helper T lymphocyte 2 with clinical and image features in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis].

Objective: To identify whether the helper T lymphocyte 1 (Th1)/helper T lymphocyte 2 (Th2) of patients' serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) at admission could represent the severity of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and whether its change at six months could predict the progression of the disease.

Methods: Eighty-three patients with IPF were subjected to pulmonary function tests (PFTs), dyspnea scores, arterial blood gas analysis, six-minute walk test (6MWT) and high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). The serum and BALF specimen of these patients were obtained as well as 20 control serum and 10 control BALF specimen.

[Screening of potential proteins from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis by using of surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrum].

Objective: To screen potential proteins in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and serum samples obtained from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), for the purpose of discovering candidate biomarkers.

Methods: BALF and serum samples from 34 patients diagnosed IPF (IPF group) and 25 non-smoker healthy controls (control group) were collected. Surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) was used to obtain protein fingerprints from BALF and serum samples.

[A retrospective cohort study of prognostic factors for death in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis].

Objective: To investigate the prognostic implications of clinical, radiographic, and physiological variables in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

Methods: The clinical, pulmonary physiological, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cell differentials and lung high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) at diagnosis in 126 patients with IPF were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis was used to evaluate various parameters associated with hazard ratio (HR).

[Effect of corticosteroids upon the prognosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis].

Objective: To investigate the therapeutic effect of corticosteroids upon idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and the impact of corticosteroids upon survival time.

Methods: Clinical data of 94 corticosteroid treatment and 32 non-corticosteroid treatment IPF patients during 2000 - 2004 were retrospectively analyzed and their survival rates compared between two groups. The corticosteroid treatment patients were divided into 3 groups: improved, steady and worsened group according to the pulmonary function data.

[Cell profiles of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid as prognostic indicators of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis].

Objective: To determine whether clinical and physiologic variables and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cell profiles affect the survival of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

Methods: There were 43 patients with clinically diagnosed IPF in the study. The Kaplan-Meier method and the Log-rank test were used to estimate the survival in the two groups and Cox proportional hazard regression was used to evaluate the Hazard Ratio in the IPF patients.