I commend Maldonado and colleagues 1 for their extended reanalysis of lung cancer screening data to explore the association between emphysema on CT scan and lung cancer in a recent issue of CHEST (December 2010). Attempts to validate previously published fi ndings are all too rare. The authors report the absence of a clear relationship between emphysema (quantitative or dichotomous) and the odd...

PURPOSE Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by irreversible airflow obstruction and pulmonary emphysema. Persistent inflammation and remodeling of the lungs and airways result in reduced lung function and a lower quality of life. Galectin (Gal)-9 plays a crucial role as an immune modulator in various diseases. However, its role in the pathogenesis of pulmonary emphysem...

BACKGROUND Emphysema, especially in the upper lobes, is frequently observed in association with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). However, the combination of emphysema plus IPF has received little attention. OBJECTIVE To investigate the additional functional impairment from emphysema in IPF patients. METHODS Twenty-one patients (mean age 66 y, 20 men) (Group I) who had both IPF (mean 35%...

OBJECTIVES The prevalence of emphysema is higher among HIV-infected (HIV+) individuals compared to HIV-uninfected persons. While greater tobacco use contributes, HIV-related effects on immunity likely confer additional risk. Low peripheral blood CD4+ to CD8+ T-lymphocyte (CD4/CD8) ratio may reflect chronic inflammation in HIV and may be a marker of chronic lung disease in this population. There...

BACKGROUND Several physiological adaptations occur in the respiratory muscles in rodent models of elastase-induced emphysema. Although the contractile properties of the diaphragm are altered in a way that suggests expression of slower isoforms of myosin heavy chain (MHC), it has been difficult to demonstrate a shift in MHCs in an animal model that corresponds to the shift toward slower MHCs see...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the difference in the clinical features of mediastinal emphysema as classified into three groups based on etiology; patients in whom it was spontaneous with unknown etiology (A group), those in whom it was secondary to bronchial asthma (B group), and those in whom it was secondary with other respiratory diseases (C group). PATIENTS Forty-three cases (45 episodes) with me...

STUDY OBJECTIVES Evidence exists that HIV-seropositive individuals may be at increased risk for the development of precocious pulmonary emphysema. HIV infection is also associated with antioxidant deficiency in both the serum and lungs, and it is therefore possible that increased oxidant stress may contribute to parenchymal lung injury occurring in the setting of HIV. We sought to determine the...

RATIONALE Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a phenotypically heterogeneous disease. In COPD, the presence of emphysema is associated with increased mortality and risk of lung cancer. High resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scans are useful in quantifying emphysema but are associated with radiation exposure and high incidence of false positive findings (i.e., nodules). Using a c...

P. vermicola is an opportunistic pathogen of human and animals. To estimate the pathogeneses P.vermicola in mice infected orally I/P with 1x108 CFU/ml).The histopathological changes at 24 hrs showed infiltration inflammatory cells apoptosis hepatocytes liver, around a congested blood vessel interstitial tissue kidney; lung revealed congestion vessels, alveolar emphysema; intestine appeared mono...

BACKGROUND Oxidative stress, resulting from the increased oxidative burden and decreased level of antioxidant proteins, plays a role in the pathophysiology of smoking-related pulmonary emphysema. Expression of several antioxidant proteins, such as heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), glutathione peroxidase 2 (GPX2) and NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), results from an equilibrium created by positive...