Longitudinal Analysis of Functional Capacity in Nursing Home Residents During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background And Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has raised concerns about nursing home (NH) residents' well-being, with recent studies indicating a significant increase in functional decline rate during this critical period. However, a comprehensive exploration of functional capacity trajectories in NH residents during the pandemic remains unexplored. This study aims to address this research gap by conducting an in-depth analysis of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on NH residents' functional capacity.

Clinical and functional status of patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia: an observational study at 2-3 months following discharge.

Introduction: Critically ill COVID-19 patients present long-term sequelae that affect their everyday life. This study aimed to describe the clinical and functional status of patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia at 2-3 months post discharge from a Spanish critical care unit.

Methods: We collected retrospective data from 58 patients admitted to the critical care unit with diagnosis of severe respiratory failure due to COVID-19.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic affect urinary incontinence and its management in the nursing homes? A descriptive phenomenological study.

Background: Management of urinary incontinence (UI) in nursing homes (NHs) represents a complex process that may have become more challenging during a period in which front-line health professionals (HPs) must deal with the outbreak of a new infectious disease. We aimed to investigate how UI and its management was affected in NHs during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the perception of health professionals.

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted between January and March 2021 with 16 health professionals working in nine NHs in the Osona county (Barcelona, Spain) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Incidence and Predictive Factors of Functional Decline in Older People Living in Nursing Homes: A Systematic Review.

Objectives: To review the evidence on incidence and predictive factors of functional decline (FD) in nursing home (NH) residents.

Design: A systematic review of the literature.

Setting And Participants: Longitudinal studies involving individuals age 60 years and older living in a NH and with at least 2 functional capacity assessments were eligible.

Early Life Microbial Exposure and Immunity Training Effects on Asthma Development and Progression.

Asthma is the most common inflammatory disease affecting the lungs, which can be caused by intrauterine or postnatal insults depending on the exposure to environmental factors. During early life, the exposure to different risk factors can influence the microbiome leading to undesired changes to the immune system. The modulations of the immunity, caused by dysbiosis during development, can increase the susceptibility to allergic diseases.

Emerging Cell-Based Therapies in Chronic Lung Diseases: What About Asthma?

Asthma is a widespread disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation. It causes substantial disability, impaired quality of life, and avoidable deaths around the world. The main treatment for asthmatic patients is the administration of corticosteroids, which improves the quality of life; however, prolonged use of corticosteroids interferes with extracellular matrix elements.

Biomechanical Response of Lung Epithelial Cells to Iron Oxide and Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles.

Increasing evidence shows that lungs can be damaged by inhalation of nanoparticles (NPs) at environmental and occupational settings. Recent findings have associated the exposure to iron oxide (FeO) and titanium dioxide (TiO) - NPs widely used in biomedical and clinical research - with pulmonary oxidative stress and inflammation. Although changes on cellular mechanics could contribute to pulmonary inflammation, there is no information regarding the effects of FeO and TiO on alveolar epithelial cell biomechanics.

Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide induces alveolar epithelial cell stiffening.

Introduction: Application of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a widely employed model to mimic acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Available data regarding LPS-induced biomechanical changes on pulmonary epithelial cells are limited only to P. aeruginosa LPS.

Lung and liver responses to 1- and 7-day treatments with LASSBio-596 in mice subchronically intoxicated by microcystin-LR.

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) can cause serious injuries upon short- and long-term exposures that can be prevented by LASSBio-596 (LB-596), an anti-inflammatory compound. We aimed to test LB-596 following subchronic exposure to MC-LR. Swiss mice received 10 intraperitoneal injections of distilled water (DW) or MC-LR (20 μg/kg bw) every 2 days.

Lung bioengineering: physical stimuli and stem/progenitor cell biology interplay towards biofabricating a functional organ.

A current approach to obtain bioengineered lungs as a future alternative for transplantation is based on seeding stem cells on decellularized lung scaffolds. A fundamental question to be solved in this approach is how to drive stem cell differentiation onto the different lung cell phenotypes. Whereas the use of soluble factors as agents to modulate the fate of stem cells was established from an early stage of the research with this type of cells, it took longer to recognize that the physical microenvironment locally sensed by stem cells (e.

Time-dependency of mice lung recovery after a 4-week exposure to traffic or biomass air pollutants.

The time-dependency of lung recovery after 3 intranasal instillations per week during four weeks of distilled water (C groups) or particles (15μg) from traffic (U groups) or biomass burning (B groups) was observed in BALB/c mice. Lung mechanics [static elastance (Est), viscoelastic component of elastance (ΔE), lung resistive (ΔP1) and viscoelastic/inhomogeneous (ΔP2) pressures] and histology were analyzed 1 (C1, U1, B1), 2 (C2, U2, B2), 7 (C7, U7, B7) or 14 days (C14, U14, B14) after the last instillation. Est, ΔE, ΔP1 and ΔP2 were higher in U1 and B1 than in C1, returning to control values at day 2, except for ΔP1 that normalized after 7 days.

Pulmonary and hepatic injury after sub-chronic exposure to sublethal doses of microcystin-LR.

We had previously shown that microcystin-LR (MCLR) could induce lung and liver inflammation after acute exposure. The biological outcomes following prolonged exposure to MCLR, although more frequent, are still poorly understood. Thus, we aimed to verify whether repeated doses of MCLR could damage lung and liver and evaluate the dose-dependence of the results.

Repeated intranasal exposure to microcystin-LR affects lungs but not nasal epithelium in mice.

Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is a harmful cyanotoxin able to induce adverse outcomes in the respiratory system. We aimed to examine the lungs and nasal epithelium of mice following a sub-chronic exposure to MC-LR. Swiss mice were intranasally instilled with 10 μL of distilled water (CTRL, n = 10) or 6.

Investigating the therapeutic effects of LASSBio-596 in an in vivo model of cylindrospermopsin-induced lung injury.

The cyanotoxin cylindrospermopsin (CYN) has lately been reported with a notorious toxicity to mammals. LASSBio-596 is a compound with anti-inflammatory actions. We aimed at evaluating the therapeutic effects of LASSBio-596 in a model of CYN-induced lung injury.

Can LASSBio 596 and dexamethasone treat acute lung and liver inflammation induced by microcystin-LR?

The treatment of microcystin-LR (MCYST-LR)-induced lung inflammation has never been reported. Hence, LASSBio 596, an anti-inflammatory drug candidate, designed as symbiotic agent that modulates TNF-alpha levels and inhibits phosphodiesterase types 4 and 5, or dexamethasone were tested in this condition. Swiss mice were intraperitoneally (i.