Genotyping Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Lebanon on the national level may be beneficial for assessing patients and monitoring the therapeutic response to DOTS. This study aimed to characterize the spoligotypes of clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis patients collected between April 2004 and October 2005 from all Lebanese provinces. Isolates (n = 60) were cultured and identified by their bioche...

Despite decades of research, many aspects of the biology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis remain unclear, and this is reflected in the antiquated tools available to treat and prevent tuberculosis and consequently this disease remains a serious public health problem. Important discoveries linking the metabolism of M. tuberculosis and pathogenesis has renewed interest in this area of research. Previ...

We and others recently identified copper resistance as important for virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Here, we introduce a high-throughput screening assay for agents that induce a copper hypersensitivity phenotype in M. tuberculosis and demonstrate that such copper-boosting compounds are effective against replicating and nonreplicating M. tuberculosis strains.

Pulmonary hamartomas are benign lesions, usually asymptomatic and incidentally discovered on a routine chest radiograph; occasionally, however, this benign lesion may cause life threatening symptoms due to it's location and diffuse vascular involvement. We report the case of a 27 year-old male, non-smoker, who presented with dyspnea, cough, hemoptysis and weight loss. He was found to have a mas...

A 69 yr old male patient developed an acute respiratory distress. The emergency bronchoscopic examination showed a polypoid tumour obstructing the left main bronchus. A snare used for colorectal polypectomy was introduced through the bronchofibrescope to remove the tumour. The patient then dramatically improved. No side effects were observed. Histopathological examination showed metastasis from...

A 30-year-old female presented with fever, cough and purulent sputum of 6 weeks’ duration. The patient had visited the hospital 1.5 years previously because of severe cough with yellowish sputum. A chest radiograph had been performed at that time, on which the findings were found to be normal (figure 1). However, flexible bronchoscopy had revealed an accessory opening from the left main bronchus.

We report the case of a 14-month-old girl suffering from cough and wheeze around Christmas. She was treated with anti-asthmatic drugs with no success, and 3 weeks later a chest X-ray revealed a LED bulb in the left main bronchus. This LED bulb came from a Christmas light garland decorating the Christmas tree. We discuss the different Christmas objects that can be inhaled by young children, the ...

STUDY OBJECTIVES The mechanisms involved in the impairment of mucociliary function after lung transplantation are not completely understood. The purpose of the present study was to isolate the effects of unilateral bronchial transection and reanastomosis in a rat model. DESIGN In situ bronchial mucociliary transport (MCT) was determined proximal and distal to the bronchial anastomosis, as wel...