Publications by authors named "Shu Chuan Ho"
Introduction: This systematic review examines how extreme temperatures impact chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) morbidity and mortality, focusing on identifying vulnerable subpopulations.
Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search from January 1, 2000, to November 6, 2024, across databases like PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus, focusing on observational studies that quantitatively defined extreme temperatures and their impacts on COPD morbidity and mortality. Out of 3140 records, 25 studies met the inclusion criteria.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigated challenges in helping patients in respiratory care centers become less dependent on ventilators, focusing on the effectiveness of various pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) protocols.
- Researchers analyzed data from 320 patients in Taiwan, comparing outcomes like weaning rates and survival across three different PR protocols: basic care, care with breathing training, and care with both breathing and limb muscle training.
- Findings indicated that patients on the most comprehensive PR protocol (protocol 3) had significantly better 3-month survival rates compared to those on basic care (protocol 1), highlighting the importance of tailored rehabilitation strategies.
Article Synopsis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) involves an autoimmune response linked to T helper 1 and 17 cell activation, with the immune regulator PD-L1 playing a crucial role in maintaining tolerance.
- Research analyzed the expression of PD-L1 on dendritic cells in people with COPD compared to healthy individuals, revealing a significant decrease in PD-L1 levels in COPD patients.
- Results indicated that lower PD-L1 in conventional dendritic cells is associated with worsening COPD and heightened T cell activity, highlighting the potential for PD-L1 as a target for immune modulation in treatment.
Article Synopsis
- This study investigates the role of blood biomarkers in predicting acute exacerbations (AEs) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), focusing on different inflammatory phenotypes.
- Researchers analyzed data from 340 COPD patients, categorizing them into eosinophilic inflammation (EOCOPD) and non-eosinophilic inflammation (N-EOCOPD) groups to examine blood cell counts and health outcomes.
- The findings suggest that different white blood cell profiles can aid in assessing the risk of exacerbations in COPD patients, highlighting an increased risk associated with higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratios in EOCOPD patients and a decreased risk with higher eosinoph
Article Synopsis
- The study addresses the challenge of managing excessive mucus in patients with chronic obstructive airway disease (COAD) through a new mobile system called COAD-MoAcCare, which enhances home-based pulmonary rehabilitation (H-PR) using technology.
- COAD-MoAcCare utilizes deep learning and vision technology to monitor and guide patients in real-time during postural drainage and percussion (PD + P) exercises, providing personalized support while reducing reliance on professional supervision.
- Evaluation by respiratory therapists showed high satisfaction with the system, achieving notable usability scores and demonstrating impressive accuracy (97.5%) in guiding PD + P operations during therapy sessions.
Article Synopsis
- * Researchers analyzed data from 3,529 patients in Taiwan, employing six machine learning techniques, including random forest, and determined feature importance through Shapley values to identify factors influencing OSA risk.
- * The random forest model achieved the highest accuracy, with 79.32% for moderate-to-severe OSA and 74.37% for severe OSA, highlighting snoring events and visceral fat as key screening features.
Article Synopsis
- High-grade inflammation and insufficient physical activity (PA) are linked to increased risks of stress, anxiety, and depression in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients.
- A study involving 294 T2DM patients found that those with low PA and high levels of the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) experienced significantly higher psychological issues.
- The combination of insufficient PA and high SII dramatically increased the risk of stress, anxiety, and depression, emphasizing the importance of active lifestyle and managing inflammation for mental health.
Article Synopsis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) poses significant global health challenges, and this study investigates the effectiveness of two specific indicators, the distance-saturation product (DSP) from the 6-min walk test and low-attenuation area percentage (LAA%), in assessing COPD stability and mortality risk.
- The study involved a retrospective analysis of 111 COPD patients in northern Taiwan, examining various clinical parameters such as pulmonary function tests (PFT), quality of life assessments, and acute exacerbation history to explore links between DSP, LAA%, and these parameters.
- Results indicated that patients with a low DSP (<290 m%) experienced worse quality of life and higher acute exacerbation frequency, while significant
Article Synopsis
- Air pollution is linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and this study aimed to explore how it mediates the health impacts of climate factors on COPD patients in Taiwan.
- The research involved 117 COPD patients, measuring various health outcomes and their connections to relative humidity, temperature, and air pollution over different time periods.
- Key findings indicate that increases in relative humidity and temperature can improve lung function and reduce emphysema, while higher levels of air pollutants reduce lung function and oxygen saturation, highlighting the significant health risks posed by climate change-related air pollution.
Article Synopsis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) continues to be a significant global health issue, complicated by a lack of effective treatments and reliable molecular biomarkers for diagnosis.
- Recent findings suggest that the long noncoding RNA lnc-IL7R could play a critical role in regulating inflammation and stress responses in COPD, but its specific functions in lung health are not yet fully understood.
- In a study of 125 COPD patients, lnc-IL7R levels were strongly associated with lung function and could effectively differentiate COPD patients from healthy individuals, indicating its potential as a biomarker for disease progression and stratification.
Background: There is a link between exposure to air pollution and the increased prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and declining pulmonary function, but the association with O desaturation during exercise in COPD patients with emphysema is unclear. Our aims were to estimate the prevalence of O desaturation during exercise in patients with COPD, and determine the association of exposure to air pollution with exercise-induced desaturation (EID), the degree of emphysema, and dynamic hyperinflation (DH).
Methods: We assessed the effects of 10-year prior to the HRCT assessment and 7 days prior to the six-minute walking test exposure to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of < 10 µm (PM) or of < 2.
Article Synopsis
- Long-term exposure to particulate matter (PM) is linked to lung damage and emphysema in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, with a focus on the long noncoding RNA lnc-IL7R's role in oxidative stress-induced cellular damage.
- The study found that lnc-IL7R levels decreased in COPD patients, correlating negatively with emphysema and PM exposure, while higher levels in normal cells helped protect against cellular aging and damage.
- Ultimately, lnc-IL7R mediates the suppression of harmful p21 expression through epigenetic mechanisms, suggesting its dysfunction could worsen cell injury in COPD.
Article Synopsis
- This study explores how obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) symptoms differ between laboratory settings and home environments, highlighting the potential overestimation of severity using in-lab tests.
- Thirty participants were monitored using both lab-based polysomnography and home-based electrocardiogram patches, with blood samples analyzed for neurochemical biomarkers.
- Results showed a significant correlation between T-Tau protein levels and home-based heart rate variations (CVHRI), suggesting that severe OSAS patients have higher T-Tau levels, and indicating that sleep parameters fluctuate depending on the environment.
Article Synopsis
- - The study investigates how insomnia disorder (ID) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can have overlapping symptoms, making it challenging to differentiate between them using standard diagnostic methods like polysomnography.
- - Researchers developed new machine learning models to classify patients into three groups: ID, low-ArTH OSA, and high-ArTH OSA, utilizing sleep data and body measurements from participants who primarily reported insomnia.
- - The random forest (RF) machine learning approach showed the best accuracy rates of 77.53% and 80.06% for distinguishing between these sleep disorders using either only oximetry data or a combination of oximetry and anthropometric data.
Article Synopsis
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) presents treatment challenges due to its varied symptoms and responses to therapy, and while progress has been made in understanding its biology, identifying specific biomarkers to assess disease severity and treatment outcomes is ongoing.
- The study aimed to evaluate multiple factors as potential indicators of disease severity and treatment success in Taiwanese patients with COPD emphysema, hypothesizing that a multi-variable model would be more effective than a single variable approach.
- Over 125 patients were analyzed using advanced techniques, revealing significant associations between body mass index (BMI), air quality pollutants, and disease progression, highlighting the importance of geospatial factors in understanding COPD severity.
Article Synopsis
- Air pollution is linked to emphysema in COPD, but the mechanisms behind this connection are not fully understood.
- This study examines how the Hippo signaling pathway and E-cadherin influence lung cell behavior after pollution exposure by using rat models and lung cells exposed to diesel exhaust particles.
- Findings show that air pollution negatively affects E-cadherin and related proteins, impacting cell differentiation, proliferation, and senescence, which might contribute to the development of emphysema.
Article Synopsis
- This study analyzed the relationship between sleep disorders and the risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in participants complaining of memory issues and sleep problems.
- It found that participants with MCI had significantly higher levels of spontaneous arousal during non-rapid eye movement sleep compared to those without cognitive impairment.
- The results suggest that frequent arousal and respiratory events during sleep may contribute to cognitive decline, but further research is needed to establish a causal link.
Association Between Air Pollution and Lung Lobar Emphysema in COPD.
Front Med (Lausanne)
September 2021
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the relationship between air pollution and the severity of emphysema in 86 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), focusing on particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone levels.
- Results indicate that a rise in ozone levels correlates with a significantly higher risk of panlobular emphysema compared to paraseptal emphysema.
- Additionally, exposure to particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone is associated with increased emphysema severity, particularly in the upper lobes of the lungs.
Article Synopsis
- The study investigates the role of the histone methyltransferase SUV39H1 in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), focusing on its impact on inflammation and comorbidities.
- Researchers compared SUV39H1 levels in blood samples of 213 COPD patients and 13 healthy controls, classifying patients into low and high SUV39H1 expression groups.
- Results showed that low SUV39H1 expression correlated with higher neutrophil counts and increased comorbidities, indicating a link between SUV39H1, systemic inflammation, and disease severity in COPD patients.
Article Synopsis
- * Findings reveal that higher levels of PM and nitrogen oxides (NO) in the air significantly increase the odds of developing TB, with the strongest association seen in the alveolar region of the lungs, where a 1-μg/m increase in PM corresponds to a nearly 4-fold increase in risk.
- * Conversely, an increase in oxygen levels was shown to decrease the risk of TB, highlighting the complex relationship between air quality and respiratory diseases.
Article Synopsis
- * Chronic exposure to 3-NBA results in specific genetic changes that promote cancer development, influencing pathways related to metabolism, cancer spread, and blood vessel formation.
- * The signaling pathway involving EREG is crucial for the tumorigenic effects of 3-NBA, where its overexpression enhances cancer cell survival and migration, correlating with poor outcomes in lung cancer patients.