K Chin

..We investigated the effects of obstructive sleep apnea and treatment with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) on serum aminotransferase levels in obese patients...

..We investigated the response shift in Epworth Sleepiness Scale scores before and after nCPAP...

..In conclusion, NIV is effective in pediatric patients undergoing liver transplantation with subsequent pulmonary complications. The IPAP and EPAP levels may be predicted by the height of the patient...

..The primary aim of this study was to develop and validate a Japanese version of the SHQ...

..CONCLUSION: There are mechanistic and phenotypic differences between CVA and classic asthma during methacholine inhalation. Frequent coughing during bronchoconstriction may be a distinctive feature of CVA...

..Recently, in addition to spirometry, impulse oscillometry (IOS) measuring lung resistance (R) and reactance (X) is increasingly being used to assess pulmonary functional impairment...

..Leptin is a hormone involved in the control of body weight and fat distribution. The effect of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) treatment on VFA and serum leptin levels in OSAS patients has not been known...

..The time period of such treatment sufficient to lower BP in OSA patients is also not known. We investigated compliance with long-term nCPAP therapy and its effects on BP...

..This decrease in FVIIc after long-term NCPAP treatment could improve mortality in OSAS patients. If patients, especially obese ones, present with high FVIIc of unknown origin, it would be prudent to check for OSAS...

..The prevalence of OSA in Mets subjects has not been established, although the converse (i.e., the prevalence of Mets in OSA subjects) has been investigated several times...

..Therefore, bilirubin levels in OSAHS patients were analyzed before and after nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) therapy...

..Effects of long-term treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) on airway-wall thickness in patients with asthma remain unknown...

..Enhanced cardiac sympathetic function in these patients may contribute to the leptin levels before nCPAP treatment and vice versa...

..95). DISCUSSION: nCPAP therapy appears to decrease HR in OSAHS patients, and may thereby reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease...

..Transforming growth factor (TGF) beta1 is considered to play central roles in the pathogenesis of airway remodeling in asthma. This notion is based primarily on the results of experimental studies; clinical evidence is limited...

..It involves airway inflammation and remodelling as does classic asthma with wheezing, and a subset of patients may progress to classic asthma. The atopic features of cough variant asthma remain unclear...

..Cardiac involvement and pulmonary hypertension (PH) are life-threatening complications in sarcoidosis...

..To assess whether an initial treatment with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) therapy, applied for one night, had any effect on airway patency...

..To investigate whether in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) the systemic immunity is disturbed and whether it changes with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (NCPAP) therapy...

..In conclusion, an increase in serum C-reactive protein levels measured by high-sensitivity assays may be associated with airflow obstruction and airway inflammation, and may serve as a surrogate marker of airway inflammation in asthma...

..No significant difference was found in the regression lines at different levels of FICO2. We conclude that ventilatory assist has little effect on the respiratory drive at a constant level of chemical feedback during hypercapnia...

..Chronic beryllium disease (CBD) is a rare disease, and there are no previous reports that have followed CBD patients over several decades. Thus, the long-term complications and prognosis of this illness still remain unclear...

..CONCLUSION: Excess TIMP-1 may have a pathogenetic role in airway wall thickening in asthmatic patients which may result in chronic airflow obstruction...

..In this article, we focus on the body of evidence supporting the use of NIV in asthma attacks and discuss its advantages as well its problems...

..A polymorphism of a promoter region of TGFB1, C-509T, might be associated with the development of asthma, but its pathophysiologic relevance remains poorly understood...

..CT studies have shown airway wall thickening in patients with asthma who wheeze. We examined airway wall thickness by CT in adult patients with chronic cough and examined its pathophysiologic implication...

..The objective of this study was to investigate the annual changes in airway dimensions and lung attenuation using CT in patients with COPD and to evaluate the correlations among annual changes in CT measurements and pulmonary function...

..However, there are no reports on the evaluation of airway dimensions or lung density by computed tomography (CT) in sarcoidosis patients...

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..Nothing is currently known on which method of ventilatory support is associated with a better continuation of long-term NPPV, which itself might lead to longer survival...

..The level at which arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO(2)) a few months after introduction of long-term non-invasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) is associated with a favorable prognosis remains uncertain...

..Treatment of aspiration pneumonia is becoming an important issue due to aging of populations worldwide. Effectiveness of tazobactam/piperacillin (TAZ/PIPC) in aspiration pneumonia is not clear...

..Thus, because a single measurement of airflow limitation is insufficient to monitor these diseases, multidimensional analyses are important not only for disease control but also for understanding disease progression in asthma and COPD...

..Sputum cell-subtype profiles in cough-variant asthma (CVA) are unknown...

..Computed tomography studies demonstrate thickening of the asthmatic airway wall and its relation to disease severity. We evaluated the effect of inhaled corticosteroid on this phenomenon...

..Our results suggest that airway wall thickening attenuates airway reactivity in patients with asthma. These findings may have important implications in pathophysiology and in the treatment of airway remodeling...

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..Although living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is predominant in Japan, the TB incidence and risk factors among LDLT recipients are unknown...

..A substantial proportion of patients with recurrent pneumonia do not have an apparent underlying condition, but they may have unknown defects in host defence mechanisms such as cough reflex...

..In this study, it is postulated that a patient's physique may be associated with the relative contribution of these lesions to airflow obstruction...

..Various Japanese versions of the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) have been used, but none was developed via standard procedures. Here we report on the construction and testing of the developer-authorized Japanese version of the ESS (JESS)...

..Cellular inflammation or possible imbalance between MMP-9 and TIMP-1 was not demonstrated in this study to be related to BD in asthma...

..Small airways involvement is associated with airflow obstruction, airway hypersensitivity, and more severe disease. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Small airways are an important therapeutic target in asthma...

..Plasma ghrelin is decreased in obese and increased in lean individuals. Of the two circulating forms of ghrelin, acylated and unacylated, the former is thought to be essential for the biological activity of ghrelin...

..To aid in the identification of patients with moderate-to-severe sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), we developed and validated a simple screening tool applicable to both clinical and community settings...

..Bilevel positive airway pressure ventilation was well tolerated and there were no adverse effects, suggesting its effectiveness for preventing pulmonary complications after hepatectomy...

..He was discharged on POD 67 and is currently well more than a year after transplantation. A literature search indicates that this patient is the first long-term survivor (>1 year) after liver transplantation for exertional heat stroke...

..We report a case with severe NPPE induced by the resection of a mediastinum thyroid goiter. The patient was successfully treated by non-invasive positive airway ventilation (NPPV)...

..Corticosteroid-induced myopathy may be an unrecognized but potentially important consideration in both settings...

..Our second aim was to investigate the relationships among CT scan measurements, anthropometric parameters, and pulmonary function...

..However, few studies have assessed the relationship between CT scan assessment and COPD mortality from mild to severe stages of the disease. In this study, we analyzed this relationship in patients with various stages of COPD...

..The aim of this study was to clarify the effectiveness of NIV in patients experiencing severe attacks of asthma...

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..However, the washout rate of MIBG correlated with the AHI and the SaO(2) < 90% time. CONCLUSIONS: Nocturnal QTcD is increased in OSAHS patients but is decreased by nCPAP therapy independently of cardiac sympathetic function...

..Remission was achieved in 7 patients, who were younger than those without remission by univariate analysis (p = 0.048). Early treatment with inhaled corticosteroid may prevent the progression of cough variant asthma to classic asthma...

..We aimed to investigate the effects of OSA and nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) therapy, a well-established treatment for OSA, on platelet aggregability...

..Small airways play important roles in the pathophysiology of asthma. However, relationships between small airway involvement and health status and dyspnea have not been investigated...

..0002). The adiponectin level, but not the TRX level, was correlated with the BMI (n = 53; p = 0.02). Plasma TRX may be a unique marker for evaluating oxidative stress and monitoring the effectiveness of nCPAP in OSA patients...

..Routine surveillance for the ST180 S. pneumoniae clone may soon become necessary...

..Sensitization to Trichophyton, a major dermatophyte, has been associated with asthma. Whether such sensitization is generally associated with the severity of asthma, like other molds such as Alternaria, is unknown...

..It has been reported that leptin and ghrelin, which were the two key hormones in appetite, are elevated in OSA patients. Therefore, it is important to investigate the relationship between OSA, body weight gain and obesity...

..The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanism of LPS-induced CTGF expression in bronchial epithelial cells...

..The mechanism for the improvement may have been the intrathoracic positive pressure during sleep induced by the nCPAP treatment during sleep. nCPAP treatment may provide a new therapy for resistant hepatic hydrothorax...

..Impaired pulmonary function, particularly %VC, may play an important role in the development of daytime hypercapnia independent of obesity in OHS patients...

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..In facilities where staff are well-trained for an acute NPPV, patients with exacerbations of PTS can be treated as successfully with NPPV as patients with COPD...