Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine This is an RSS file. You can use it to subscribe to this data in your favourite RSS reader or to display this data on your own website or blog.

Up-to-Date Information on Rheumatoid Arthritis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease
Pulmonary involvement is common in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and affects all the components of the lung. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is the most predominant pulmonary manifestation and has been identified as the main cause of morbidity and mortality in RA. Clinically significant RA-ILD occurs in approximately 10% of RA patients. Several risk factors, such as old age, male gender, and smoking, have been reported to date. Histologically, the proportion of the usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern is higher in RA-ILD than in ILD associated with other connective tissue diseases, and RA-ILD also shows nonspecific inter...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - May 30, 2016 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Takafumi Suda Source Type: research

Levels of Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products in Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid in Patients with Various Inflammatory Lung Diseases
In this study, we measured sRAGE levels in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) of 78 patients, including 41 with interstitial pneumonia, 11 with sarcoidosis, 9 with respiratory infection, 7 with ARDS, 5 with lung cancer, and 5 with vasculitis. Among them, sRAGE was detectable in BALF of 73 patients (94%). In patients with ARDS and vasculitis, the sRAGE levels were significantly higher than in the control subjects and those with interstitial pneumonia. The sRAGE levels were positively correlated with total cell counts in BALF and serum levels of surfactant protein-D, lactate dehydrogenase, and C-reactive protein. There was ...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - April 27, 2016 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Tetsuro KamoSadatomo TasakaYuriko TokudaShoji SuzukiTakanori AsakuraKazuma YagiHo NamkoongMakoto IshiiNaoki HasegawaTomoko Betsuyaku Source Type: research

Biomarkers and Autoantibodies of Interstitial Lung Disease with Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies
Various autoantibodies are seen in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies. Among myositis-specific antibodies, anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase and anti-melanoma differentiation-associated protein 5 (MDA5) antibodies are associated with interstitial lung disease (ILD). Anti-MDA5 antibodies are associated with dermatomyositis (DM) or clinically amyopathic DM complicated with rapidly progressive ILD. In anti-MDA5-positive patients, a random ground-glass attenuation pattern is a characteristic finding of ILD in chest high-resolution computed tomography. Conversely, anti-aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase antibodies are not associated with r...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - April 2, 2016 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Hajime Yoshifuji Source Type: research

Genetic Susceptibility to Interstitial Lung Disease Associated with Systemic Sclerosis
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease that is characterized by tissue fibrosis, microvasculopathy, and autoimmunity. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a common complication of SSc and is one of the frequent causes of mortality in SSc. Although the exact etiology of SSc remains unknown, clinical and experimental investigations have suggested that genetic and environmental factors are relevant to the pathogenesis of SSc and SSc-ILD. More than 30 genes have been identified as susceptibility loci for SSc, most of which are involved in immune regulation and inflammation. It is thought that the key pathogenesi...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - March 13, 2016 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Akiko TochimotoYasushi KawaguchiHisashi Yamanaka Source Type: research

Pathology of Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias
The updated classification of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) in 2013 by American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society included several important revisions to the categories described in the 2002 classification. In the updated classification, lymphoid interstitial pneumonia (LIP) was moved from major to rare IIPs, pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) was newly included in the rare IIPs, acute fibrinous and organizing pneumonia (AFOP) and interstitial pneumonias with a bronchiolocentric distribution are recognized as rare histologic patterns, and unclassifiable IIP (UCIP) was classified as an IIP. Howe...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - February 29, 2016 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Mikiko HashisakoJunya Fukuoka Source Type: research

Lymphangiogenesis and Lesion Heterogeneity in Interstitial Lung Diseases
The lymphatic system has several physiological roles, including fluid homeostasis and the activation of adaptive immunity by fluid drainage and cell transport. Lymphangiogenesis occurs in adult tissues during various pathologic conditions. In addition, lymphangiogenesis is closely linked to capillary angiogenesis, and the balanced interrelationship between capillary angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis is essential for maintaining homeostasis in tissues. Recently, an increasing body of information regarding the biology of lymphatic endothelial cells has allowed us to immunohistochemically characterize lymphangiogenesis in se...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - January 24, 2016 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Masahiro Yamashita Source Type: research

Recent Treatments of Interstitial Lung Disease with Systemic Sclerosis
Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a disorder characterized by immune dysfunction, microvascular injury, and fibrosis. Organ involvement in patients with SSc is variable; however, pulmonary involvement occurs in up to 90% of patients with SSc. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a major cause of mortality and, thus, a major determinant in the prognosis of patients with SSc. This review summarizes current findings about the characteristics of ILD in patients with SSc, selection of patients with SSc-ILD who are candidates for the treatment, and current treatment options. (Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory ...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - January 19, 2016 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Hidekata Yasuoka Source Type: research

Myriad Functions of Stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) Cover Multiple Therapeutic Targets in the Complicated Pathogenesis of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an intractable disease for which the pathological findings are characterized by temporal and spatial heterogeneity. The pathogenesis is composed of myriad factors, including repetitive injuries to epithelial cells, alterations in immunity, the formation of vascular leakage and coagulation, abnormal wound healing, fibrogenesis, and collagen accumulation. Therefore, the molecular target drugs that are used or attempted for treatment or clinical trials may not cover the myriad therapeutic targets of IPF. In addition, the complicated pathogenesis results in a lack of informative biomarker...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - December 29, 2015 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Shinya Ohkouchi,Manabu OnoMakoto KobayashiTaizou HiranoYutaka TojoShu HisataMasakazu IchinoseToshiya IrokawaHiromasa OgawaHajime Kurosawa Source Type: research

Management of Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia in Kidney Transplantation to Prevent Further Outbreak
The outbreak of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) among kidney transplant recipients is emerging worldwide. It is important to control nosocomial PJP infection. A delay in diagnosis and treatment increases the number of reservoir patients and the number of cases of respiratory failure and death. Owing to the large number of kidney transplant recipients compared to other types of organ transplantation, there are greater opportunities for them to share the same time and space. Although the use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) as first choice in PJP prophylaxis is valuable for PJP that develops from infections ...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - November 15, 2015 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Norihiko GotoKenta FutamuraManabu OkadaTakayuki YamamotoMakoto TsujitaTakahisa HiramitsuShunji Narumiand Yoshihiko Watarai Source Type: research

Organizing Pneumonia in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Case-Based Review
In this study, we also perform a review of the literature on RA-associated or biological DMARD-related OP and discuss the pathogenesis and management of OP occurring in RA patients. (Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine)
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - October 27, 2015 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Shunsuke MoriYukinori KogaMineharu Sugimoto Source Type: research

Interstitial Lung Disease in Childhood: Clinical and Genetic Aspects
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) in childhood is a heterogeneous group of rare pulmonary conditions presenting chronic respiratory disorders. Many clinical features of ILD still remain unclear, making the treatment strategies mainly investigative. Guidelines may provide physicians with an overview on the diagnosis and therapeutic directions. However, the criteria used in different clinical studies for the classification and diagnosis of ILDs are not always the same, making the development of guidelines difficult. Advances in genetic testing have thrown light on some etiologies of ILD, which were formerly classified as ILDs ...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - October 11, 2015 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Hiroshi KitazawaShigeo Kure Source Type: research

Interstitial Lung Disease with ANCA-associated Vasculitis
The association between interstitial lung disease (ILD) and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis (AAV), particularly microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), has been described in a number of case reports and case series reports in the last 2 decades. In addition, patients with pulmonary fibrosis and ANCA positivity but without other manifestations of systemic vasculitis have also been reported. Pulmonary fibrosis was clinically manifested at the time of diagnosis in the majority of AAV patients that developed this condition. Moreover, ANCA-positive conversion occurs in patients initially diagnosed with...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - September 23, 2015 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Yasuhiro KatsumataYasushi KawaguchiHisashi Yamanaka Source Type: research

Management of Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients with Interstitial Lung Disease: Safety of Biological Antirheumatic Drugs and Assessment of Pulmonary Fibrosis
Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Accompanying the increased number of reports on the development or exacerbation of ILD in RA patients following therapy with biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), RA-associated ILD (RA-ILD) has aroused renewed interest. Although such cases have been reported mainly in association with the use of tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, the use of other biological DMARDs has also become a matter of concern. Nevertheless, it is difficult to establish a causative relationship between ...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - September 8, 2015 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Shunsuke Mori Source Type: research

Pneumocystis jirovecii Pneumonia in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: Risks and Prophylaxis Recommendations
Pneumocystis jirovecii infection causes fulminant interstitial pneumonia (Pneumocystis pneumonia, PCP) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who are receiving biological and/or nonbiological antirheumatic drugs. Recently, we encountered a PCP outbreak among RA outpatients at our institution. Hospital-acquired, person-to-person transmission appears to be the most likely mode of this cluster of P. jirovecii infection. Carriage of P. jirovecii seems a time-limited phenomenon in immunocompetent hosts, but in RA patients receiving antirheumatic therapy, clearance of this organism from the lungs is delayed. Carriers among R...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - September 6, 2015 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Shunsuke MoriMineharu Sugimoto Source Type: research

Pneumocystis Pneumonia in Human Immunodeficiency Virus & ndash;infected Adults and Adolescents: Current Concepts and Future Directions
Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) is one of the most common opportunistic infections in human immunodeficiency virus–infected adults. Colonization of Pneumocystis is highly prevalent among the general population and could be associated with the transmission and development of PCP in immunocompromised individuals. Although the microscopic demonstration of the organisms in respiratory specimens is still the golden standard of its diagnosis, polymerase chain reaction has been shown to have a high sensitivity, detecting Pneumocystis DNA in induced sputum or oropharyngeal wash. Serum β-D-glucan is useful as an adjunctiv...
Source: Clinical Medicine Insights: Circulatory, Respiratory and Pulmonary Medicine - August 12, 2015 Category: Respiratory Medicine Authors: Sadatomo Tasaka Source Type: research