The burden of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease associated with maintenance monotherapy in the UK.

Background: This study characterized a cohort of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients on maintenance bronchodilator monotherapy for ≥6 months to establish their disease burden, measured by health care utilization.

Methods: Data were extracted from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink and linked to Hospital Episode Statistics. The monotherapy period spanned the first prescription of a long-acting β-adrenergic agonist or a long-acting muscarinic antagonist until the end of the study (December 31, 2013) or until step up to dual/triple therapy, for example, addition of another long-acting bronchodilator, an inhaled corticosteroid, or both.

The development of automated patch clamp assays for canonical transient receptor potential channels TRPC3, 6, and 7.

The canonical transient receptor potential channel subfamily (TRPC3, TRPC6, and TRPC7) contains Ca(2+) permeable non-selective cation channels that are widely expressed in a variety of tissues. There is increasing evidence implicating TRPC channels, particularly TRPC3 and 6, in physiological and pathophysiological processes, eliciting interest in these channels as novel drug targets. Electrophysiology remains a benchmark technique for measuring ion channel function and accurately determining the pharmacological effects of compounds.

EP4 receptors mediate prostaglandin E2, tumour necrosis factor alpha and interleukin 1beta-induced ion secretion in human and mouse colon mucosa.

Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2)) is an inflammatory mediator implicated in several gastrointestinal pathologies that cause diarrhoea. The aim of this study was to establish the contributions of the four different EP receptors (EP(1-4)) to PGE(2)-induced anion secretion in human and mouse colon mucosa. Electrogenic anion secretion (short-circuit current; I(sc)) was measured across colonic mucosae or T84 monolayers placed in Ussing chambers in response to EP receptor agonists and antagonists.