Chronic Obstructive Conditions Research Articles

FORCED OSCILLATION TECHNIQUE (FOT) – A NOVEL METHOD FOR THE DETECTION OF EARLY AIRWAY CHANGES

According to the World Health Organization in 2019 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) was the third leading cause of death worldwide, causing more than 3 million deaths whereas bronchial asthma affected more than 250 million people and caused 455 000 deaths. Both diseases are chronic obstructive conditions which need to be diagnosed early in order to prevent or slow down the complications. Consequently the world requires new effortless methods for diagnosis of airway obstructions, especially for small children and people who cannot perform the spirometry maneuver. The purpose of this report is to describe the objectives of the forced oscillation technique (FOT) and to establish its applications in the clinical practice. Studies and clinical cases regarding pulmonary function testing are summarized and analyzed. They are found in the following databases - PubMed, Google Scholar and Science Direct. Spirometry is the ‘gold standard’ for the diagnosis of airflow obstruction but it requires effort and can be difficult for patients to perform. Forced oscillation technique (FOT) on the other hand is a relatively new method that may hold the key to identifying smoking-related respiratory early alterations and childhood asthma. FOT requires tidal breathing while applying external, small amplitude oscillations in order to determine the response of the respiratory system. Therefore, it is easy for pre-school children to perform. The benefit of FOT should be taken into account for patients who cannot perform spirometry or other pulmonary function ttests. The minimal cooperation of the patient and the easy tidal breathing maneuvers make this method a great option for every pulmonologist. Compared to spirometry this technique may be more sensitive in the detection of disturbances of the peripheral airways and may be effective for the control of therapy at a long term. The Forced oscillation technique has been successfully applied in many pediatric respiratory disorders, such as asthma, cystic fibrosis, and chronic lung disease. Considering these qualities FOT may be used as an alternative of spirometry in heterogenous ventilatory disturbances of the small airways.

Integrating molecular interactions and gene expression to identify biomarkers and network modules of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) causes chronic obstructive conditions, chronic bronchitis, and emphysema, and is a major cause of death worldwide. Although several efforts for identifying biomarkers and pathways have been made, specific causal COPD mechanism remains unknown.OBJECTIVE: This study combined biological interaction data with gene expression data for a better understanding of the biological process and network module for COPD.METHODS: Using a sparse network-based method, we selected 49 genes from peripheral blood mononuclear cell expression data of 136 subjects, including 42 ex-smoking controls and 94 subjects with COPD.RESULTS: These 49 genes might influence biological processes and molecular functions related to COPD. For example, our result suggests that FoxO signaling may contribute to the atrophy of COPD peripheral muscle tissues via oxidative stress.CONCLUSIONS: Our approach enhances the existing understanding of COPD disease pathogenesis and predicts new genetic markers and pathways that may influence COPD pathogenesis.

Actualización en asma

IntroductionAsthma is a global health problem due to its high prevalence, closely linked to the increase of allergies, and to its chronicity. It is not a disease per se, but rather an airway syndrome that, sharing clinical manifestations (cough, dyspnea and wheezing), presents different inflammatory patterns that translate into specific phenotypes. DiagnosisA sequential diagnostic approach allows to establish a diagnostic certainty in almost all cases, even if exceptionally there is a mixed ACOS syndrome that shared features from other chronic obstructive conditions. TreatmentThe goal of the treatment nowadays is to control the asthma for as long as possible with a tripe strategy of information, pharmacological measures and follow-ups. Standardised pharmacological treatment that is stepped according to the severity degrees, carrying out a correct inhaler technique, is safe and works to reach control, except for a small proportion of patients with SUA where it is necessary to rule out comorbidities (rhinosinusitis, gastroesophageal reflux) and identify the inflammatory phenotype with specific biomarkers that need to be targeted with a specific immunomodulatory treatment that can modify the course and prognosis of the disease. Biological treatment, still limited, undoubtedly offers an attractive possibility for a broader use in the close future.