Surfactant protein (SP)-A and SP-D are collagen-like glycoproteins that are synthesised in the distal pulmonary epithelium. This study examined the effects of ageing and long-term smoking on SP-A and SP-D in the lungs. The possible links to the development of pulmonary emphysema were also investigated. Sequential lavage was performed in young and middle-aged or elderly nonsmokers and asymptomatic current smokers with various smoking histories. Middle-aged or elderly smokers were further categorised according to the presence of emphysema by high-resolution computed tomography. Levels of SP-A and SP-D in bronchial lavage (BL) fluid and in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were quantified by ELISA. Significant decreases in SP-A were seen with age in nonsmokers in BL fluid, but not in BAL fluid. Middle-aged or elderly smokers with emphysema had lower levels of SP-A in both BL and BAL fluids when compared with young subjects, and in BL fluid when compared with middle-aged or elderly smokers without emphysema. SP-D did not change with age alone, however, it was decreased in middle-aged or elderly smokers when compared with similarly aged nonsmokers. In conclusion, surfactant protein-A may decrease with age alone or due to the cumulative effects of long-term smoking and development of emphysema, while surfactant protein-D decreases due to long-term smoking.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1183/09031936.04.00064004 | DOI Listing |
J Med Internet Res
January 2025
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States.
Background: Clinical decision support systems leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) are increasingly integrated into health care practices, including pharmacy medication verification. Communicating uncertainty in an AI prediction is viewed as an important mechanism for boosting human collaboration and trust. Yet, little is known about the effects on human cognition as a result of interacting with such types of AI advice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJMIR Res Protoc
January 2025
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, United States.
Background: Black adults in the United States experience disproportionately high rates of tobacco- and obesity-related diseases, driven in part by disparities in smoking cessation and physical activity. Smartphone-based interventions with financial incentives offer a scalable solution to address these health disparities.
Objective: This study aims to assess the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a mobile health intervention that provides financial incentives for smoking cessation and physical activity among Black adults.
Blood Adv
February 2025
Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA.
Little is known about the impact of recent advances in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment on racial/ethnic disparities in survival outcomes. We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with newly diagnosed AML using data from a nationwide electronic health record-derived deidentified database. Patients were categorized based on their diagnosis date relative to venetoclax approval, as pre-novel therapy era (Pre era; 2014-2018; n = 2998) or post-novel therapy era (Post era; 2019-2022; n = 2098).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare Institute, Boston, Massachusetts.
Importance: Uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common indication for outpatient antimicrobial therapy. National guidelines for the management of uncomplicated UTI were published in 2011, but the extent to which they align with current practices, patient diversity, and pathogen biology, all of which have evolved greatly in the time since their publication, is not fully known.
Objective: To reevaluate the effectiveness and adverse event profile for first-line antibiotics, fluoroquinolones, and oral β-lactams for treating uncomplicated UTI in contemporary clinical practice.
JAMA Netw Open
January 2025
Healthcare Transformation Institute, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
Importance: Adherence to glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) is important for their effectiveness. Discontinuation and reinitiation patterns are not well understood.
Objective: To describe rates of and factors associated with discontinuation and subsequent reinitiation of GLP-1 RAs among adults with overweight or obesity.
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