Ultrahigh-resolution OCT imaging of the human cornea.

We present imaging of corneal pathologies using optical coherence tomography (OCT) with high resolution. To this end, an ultrahigh-resolution spectral domain OCT (UHR-OCT) system based on a broad bandwidth Ti:sapphire laser is employed. With a central wavelength of 800 nm, the imaging device allows to acquire OCT data at the central, paracentral and peripheral cornea as well as the limbal region with 1.

Impact of fatigue in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: results from an exploratory study.

Introduction: Fatigue, which is also present in the healthy population, is a common but understudied symptom in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We hypothesized that clinically significant fatigue is also frequent in COPD and can be associated with an increased disease burden.

Methods: An exploratory analysis derived from an ongoing cross-sectional study was carried out to evaluate levels of fatigue and impact on health-related quality of life/health status in patients with COPD (COPD group; n = 20) and healthy subjects (control group; n = 5).

Novel inhaled combined antibiotic formulations in the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa airways infections in cystic fibrosis.

In cystic fibrosis, chronic airways infection caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa can be treated with inhaled antibiotics such as inhaled tobramycin, aztreonam or colistin. However, biofilm formation induced by this bacterium can reduce the effectiveness of such therapies and can contribute to antibiotic resistance. Inhaled antibiotic combination might represent an optimal antibiofilm strategy in this setting.

Targeting 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Introduction: In asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), there is an unmet therapeutic need for the anti-inflammatory therapies, and the identification of therapeutic targets and potent corresponding therapies is necessary. Although inhaled corticosteroids and leukotriene modifiers are most effective in asthma they are still not always capable of appropriately controlling the disease. In COPD, the therapeutic gap is even larger because inhaled corticosteroids and other anti-inflammatory therapies are not beneficial in all disease subsets.

Efficacy of budesonide in collagenous colitis Evaluation of: Miehlke S, Madisch A, Kupcinskas L, et al. Budesonide is more effective than mesalamine or placebo in short-term treatment of collagenous colitis. Gastroenterology 2014;146(5):1222-1230 e1222.

Introduction: Collagenous colitis (CC) is a less common colonic disease with variable prevalence and undulating course. Among the available therapies, budesonide was demonstrated to induce a rapid and sustained remission in many cases, but little is known about the comparative efficacy of other treatments, such as mesalamine.

Areas Covered: Evaluation of a randomized study assessing the efficacy and safety of budesonide over mesalamine in patients with CC.

Bedoradrine for treating asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Introduction: In severe asthma attacks or in severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations, inhaled short-acting bronchodilators, such as salbutamol (albuterol), terbutaline or ipratropium, often have a limited effectiveness due to significantly impaired ventilation. For these reasons, the use of a systemic bronchodilator medication might be more appropriate as therapeutic options. However, such formulations, especially salbutamol, are usually, and unfortunately, associated with a high risk of cardiovascular events.

Immune therapies for malignant mesothelioma.

Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a rare disease which can develop in pleura, pericardium or peritoneum and in which the therapies available have limited efficacy and are associated with various side effects. Therefore, there is a need for more targeted and more effective therapies which are able to halt the disease progression. Among them immune therapies actively or passively directed against various structures of the MM cells seem to be particularly promising given their inhibitory potential demonstrated in both experimental and early clinical studies.

Epratuzumab for systemic lupus erythematosus.

Introduction: Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune multiorgan disease in which the lack of an appropriate therapy can lead to rapid organ failure and death. Immunosuppressive therapies such as corticosteroids or cyclophosphamide can slow down the disease progression but sometimes other therapies are needed. Among such therapies, epratuzumab, an antiCD22 antibody, can be potentially efficacious in this disease.

Outcome measures for palliative oxygen therapy: relevance and practical utility.

Dyspnea is a common symptom in many advanced malignant and non-malignant diseases and often is refractory to the usual therapies. In such circumstances palliative care approaches are necessary and among them palliative care oxygen therapy can be applied although currently its effectiveness is rather uncertain. Palliative oxygen therapy can be given on either continuous basis or on demand.

Preparation and cytocompatibility evaluation for hydrosoluble phosphorous acid-derivatized cellulose as tissue engineering scaffold material.

Chemical modification of cellulose by phosphorylation enhances its bioactivity and provides new derivatives and materials with specific end uses. In the present study, cellulose derivatized with phosphorous acid was obtained using the reaction of microcrystalline cellulose with phosphorous acid-urea mixture, in molten state, in comparison with others methods that used different solvents and catalysts. Completely water soluble films with a substitution degree close to one were obtained and characterized by analytical and spectral analysis (FT-IR, (31)P NMR), contact angle, metallographic microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Three-year follow-up of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, parathyroid hormone, and bone mineral density in nursing home residents who had received 12 months of daily bread fortification with 125 μg of vitamin D₃.

Background: We conducted a single-arm clinical trial in institutionalized seniors, on the effects of high-dose vitamin D3-fortified bread daily intake (clinicaltrials.gov registration NCT00789503).

Methods: At 1 and 3 years after the dietary fortification was stopped, serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), parathyroid hormone (PTH) and bone mineral density were measured in 23 of the original study subjects, aged 60-82 years who had consumed bread buns (100 g) fortified with 320 mg elemental calcium and 125 μg (5,000 IU) vitamin D3 daily for one year.

Discontinued drugs for pulmonary, allergy, gastrointestinal, arthritis (2012).

Introduction: Various compounds are developed to interfere with pathogenic pathways involved in inflammation processes. Some of them are able to enter the clinical development for different diseases with a common pathogenic denominator such as, for example, rheumatoid arthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), based on the preclinical evidence, but not all these molecules prove to be efficacious while tested in different phases of clinical development.

Areas Covered: This review discusses about the drugs that were discontinued from further development for pulmonary, allergy, gastrointestinal and arthritis diseases

Expert Opinion: Most of the drugs discontinued during 2012 were compounds with anti-inflammatory activity which were mostly designed to treat arthritis/rheumatoid arthritis.

Hospitalizations for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations and their impact on disease and subsequent morbidity and mortality.

In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), progressive airflow limitation is a risk factor for development of disease exacerbations, which, when severe, may require hospitalization. In the discussed study, a large cohort of patients hospitalized for their first COPD exacerbation were analyzed in terms of subsequent hospitalizations and mortality risk. COPD hospitalizations were found to be a risk factor for subsequent COPD-related hospitalizations, to increase their incidence and to increase the disease-related mortality risk.

Ciprofloxacin DPI in non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis: a Phase II randomized study.

Introduction: In non-cystic fibrosis (CF) bronchiectasis, the chronic airways infection is a risk factor for frequent infectious exacerbations and for an overall poor disease prognosis. Its therapy with inhaled antibiotics might be useful alike in the case of the CF-related disease.

Areas Covered: Analysis and discussion of the results of a Phase II study evaluating the efficacy and safety of the inhaled ciprofloxacin-dry powder (C-DPI) formulation in patients with non-CF bronchiectasis.

Evaluation of inhaled tiotropium in asthma, uncontrolled with standard combination therapy.

Introduction: In uncontrolled asthma, the suboptimally inhibited airways inflammation is the main pathogenic event. Addition of other medications to the regular regimen might be able to improve disease control by enhancing bronchodilation and/or by reducing the bronchial inflammation. Tiotropium is currently under evaluation as a potential such therapy.

The endothelial saga: the past, the present, the future.

Endothelium-dependent changes in vasomotor tone, whether evoked by vasoactive agents or physical forces, are recognized as essential for the local hemodynamic control in various normal and pathological circumstances. They are based on a complex signaling network within the vascular wall. In recent years, substantial efforts have been made to analyze how such signals are generated and used in the endothelium-dependent control of vascular smooth muscle.

Interactions between apelin and angiotensin II on rat portal vein.

Apelin (AP), an endogenous ligand of the APJ receptor, is involved in the regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis. Regardless the multiple similarities between AP and angiotensin II (Ang II), their roles seem to be different. We studied both the interactions between Apelin 13 (AP13) and Ang II and to what extent, if any, nitric oxide (NO) is involved.

Correlations between carbohydrate metabolism and corticotrop axis parameters in anorexia nervosa.

The hypercortisolism is one of the hormonal features of anorexia nervosa (AN) in the undernutrition phase. This abnormality seems to be related to the nutritional factors because the weight restoration leads to the normalization of cortisol. We have investigated glycemia, plasma insulin and C-peptide like markers of carbohydrate metabolism, and, also, adrenocorticotrope hormone (ACTH), beta-endorphins and cortisol in basal and dynamics conditions in 142 patients with AN.

Schiff bis bases: analytical reagents. II. Spectrophotometric determination of manganese from pharmaceutical forms.

By condensing ethyl-o-hydroxybenzene with ethylene diamine, and 1-ethyl-salicylidene bis ethylene diamine, a Salen-type Schiff bis base is obtained. These Schiff bis bases present a good capacity of complexing the Mn(II) ions, resulting brown complexes. In this paper, the results of a study concerning the use of the Schiff bis base as reagent in spectrophotometric determination of the Mn(II) is presented.