Acute Respiratory Failure due to Neuromyelitis Optica Treated Successfully with Plasmapheresis.

Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) is a demyelinating autoimmune disease involving the central nervous system. Acute respiratory failure from cervical myelitis due to NMO is known to occur but is uncommon in monophasic disease and is treated with high dose steroids. We report a case of a patient with NMO who developed acute respiratory failure related to cervical spinal cord involvement, refractory to pulse dose steroid therapy, which resolved with plasmapheresis.

The effect of the endothelin-1 receptor antagonist, bosentan, on patients with poorly controlled asthma: a 17-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover pilot study.

Objective: To determine the effect of bosentan on subjects with poorly controlled asthma.

Methods: This was a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover pilot study. Subjects were poorly controlled on anti-inflammatory and long acting β-agonist therapy, and had a baseline forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) percent of predicted of 40 -70%.