Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

PLoS One 2022 24;17(6):e0270456. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Institute for Medical and Marine Biotechnology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.

Three-dimensional tracking of cells is one of the most powerful methods to investigate multicellular phenomena, such as ontogenesis, tumor formation or wound healing. However, 3D tracking in a biological environment usually requires fluorescent labeling of the cells and elaborate equipment, such as automated light sheet or confocal microscopy. Here we present a simple method for 3D tracking large numbers of unlabeled cells in a collagen matrix. Read More

Diagnostics (Basel) 2022 Jun 6;12(6). Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria.

During the last five decades, lung sonography has developed into a core competency of intensive care medicine. It is a highly accurate bedside tool, with clear diagnostic criteria for most causes of respiratory failure (pneumothorax, pulmonary edema, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and pleural effusion). It helps in distinguishing a hypovolemic from a cardiogenic, obstructive, or distributive shock. Read More

BMJ Open Respir Res 2022 06;9(1)

Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Biological Sciences, Division of Infection, Immunity & Respiratory Medicine, The University of Manchester and Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, UK.

Introduction: Inducible laryngeal obstruction (ILO) describes transient laryngeal closure during respiration and can cause significant morbidity. Non-pharmacological behavioural therapy is the commonly cited treatment but efficacy is largely unknown.

Aim: To synthesise the current evidence base on the effectiveness of non-pharmacological interventions used to treat adults with ILO. Read More

Can J Urol 2022 Jun;29(3):11187-11189

Section of Urology and Renal Transplantation, Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, Seattle, Washington, USA.

A 71-year-old woman with history of asthma presented with 2 months history of shortness of breath; on imaging an incidental left renal mass was noted. Subsequent renal protocol CT was obtained that showed a 4.5 cm left upper pole exophytic mass with renal vein thrombus extending into the inferior vena cava to the level of the caudate lobe concerning for renal cell carcinoma. Read More

Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol 2022 Jun 10. Epub 2022 Jun 10.

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, United States.

The current standard for lung function evaluation in murine models is based on forced oscillation technology, which provides a measure of the total airway function, but cannot provide information on regional heterogeneity in function. Limited detection of regional airflow may contribute to a discontinuity between airway inflammation and airflow obstruction in models of asthma. Here, we describe quantification of regional airway function using novel dynamic quantitative imaging and analysis to quantify and visualize lung motion and regional pulmonary airflow in 4dimensions (4D). Read More

Clin Respir J 2022 Jun 10. Epub 2022 Jun 10.

University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Smoking, exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and occupational exposure to vapours, gases, dusts or fumes (VGDF) increase asthma symptoms. The impact of combined exposure is less well established. We aimed to evaluate the risk of combined exposure to smoking, ETS and VGDF on the prevalence of current asthma and asthma-related symptoms with a postal survey among a random population of 16,000 adults, aged 20-69 years (response rate 51. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022 May 25;19(11). Epub 2022 May 25.

Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.

Seasonal pollen is a common cause of allergic respiratory disease. In the United States, pollen monitoring occurs via manual counting, a method which is both labor-intensive and has a considerable time delay. In this paper, we report the field-testing results of a new, automated, real-time pollen imaging sensor in Atlanta, GA. Read More

Acute Med 2022 ;21(2):107-110

MBChB, MRCP (Acute Medicine), Consultant Acute Medicine, East Surrey Hospital.

Wheeze and shortness of breath are a common reason for admission to hospital but the cause of which is not always immediately apparent. We present a case of a patient with respiratory distress, wheeze and chest tightness on a background of well controlled asthma and androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer. The patient was provisionally treated as an asthma exacerbation but point of care ultrasound (POCUS) performed soon after admission revealed severe LV impairment and 'wet lungs' in keeping with acute decompensated heart failure. Read More

Chest 2022 Jun;161(6):e349-e354

Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Zucker School of Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, NY.

Case Presentation: A 49-year-old woman sought treatment at the hospital for evaluation of an enlarging cavitary mass of the right lung associated with worsening ipsilateral pleuritic chest pain and cough. She had recent hospitalizations for complications relating to recurrent lung abscesses, including one in which she underwent wedge resection of the right lung. She had been treated with several courses of antibiotics, which only temporarily relieved her symptoms. Read More

Am J Med 2022 Jun 6. Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Departments of Medicine (AS, ID) and Imaging (YG), Laniado Hospital, Sanz Medical Centre, Netanya, and the Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem (AS), Israel.

Front Physiol 2022 23;13:898208. Epub 2022 May 23.

Airway Physiology and Imaging Group, The Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.

Asthma with irreversible or fixed airflow obstruction (FAO) is a severe clinical phenotype that is difficult to treat and is associated with an accelerated decline in lung function and excess morbidity. There are no current treatments to reverse or prevent this excessive decline in lung function in these patients, due to a lack of understanding of the underlying pathophysiology. The current paradigm is that FAO in asthma is due to airway remodeling driven by chronic inflammation. Read More

J Shoulder Elb Arthroplast 2022 13;6:24715492221090762. Epub 2022 Apr 13.

Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.

With current emphasis on preoperative templating of anatomical and reverse shoulder arthroplasty (aTSA and rTSA, respectively), patients often receive thin slice (<1.0 mm) computerized tomography (CT) scans of the operative shoulder, which includes about two-thirds of the ipsilateral lung. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the prevalence and management of incidentally detected pulmonary nodules on preoperative CT scans for shoulder arthroplasty. Read More

Clin Case Rep 2022 Jun 2;10(6):e05941. Epub 2022 Jun 2.

Department of Psychiatry Kaga Mental Hospital Kaga Japan.

Venlafaxine-associated pulmonary toxicity is rare, with only a few reports of pneumonitis, eosinophilic pneumonia, and asthma. We report a case of venlafaxine-induced interstitial lung disease in a patient with coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic-related depression. Chest imaging findings improved after discontinuation of venlafaxine and treatment with corticosteroids. Read More

Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2022 May 25. Epub 2022 May 25.

Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy; Institute of Respiratory Diseases, Policlinico universitario "Riuniti" di Foggia, Foggia, Italy.

Background: Transthoracic ultrasound (TUS) is an accepted complementary tool in the diagnostic process of several pleuro-pulmonary diseases. However, to the best of our knowledge, TUS findings in patients with severe asthma have never been systematically described.

Objective: To explore if TUS examination is a useful imaging method in suggesting the presence of a "small airways disease" in patients with severe uncontrolled asthma. Read More

J Pathol 2022 May 30. Epub 2022 May 30.

RECAMO, Masaryk Memorial Cancer Institute, Brno, Czech Republic.

The 2022 Annual Review Issue of The Journal of Pathology, Recent Advances in Pathology, contains 15 invited reviews on research areas of growing importance in pathology. This year, the articles include those that focus on digital pathology, employing modern imaging techniques and software to enable improved diagnostic and research applications to study human diseases. This subject area includes the ability to identify specific genetic alterations through the morphological changes they induce, as well as integrating digital and computational pathology with 'omics technologies. Read More

Front Immunol 2022 12;13:880887. Epub 2022 May 12.

Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy, and Sleep, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.

Macrophages are paracrine signalers that regulate tissular responses to injury through interactions with parenchymal cells. Connexin hemichannels have recently been shown to mediate efflux of ATP by macrophages, with resulting cytosolic calcium responses in adjacent cells. Here we report that lung macrophages with deletion of connexin 43 (Mac) had decreased ATP efflux into the extracellular space and induced a decreased cytosolic calcium response in co-cultured fibroblasts compared to WT macrophages. Read More

J Pers Med 2022 May 17;12(5). Epub 2022 May 17.

Wal-Yan Respiratory Research Centre, Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009, Australia.

The airway epithelium of children with asthma is characterized by aberrant repair that may be therapeutically modifiable. The development of epithelial-targeting therapeutics that enhance airway repair could provide a novel treatment avenue for childhood asthma. Drug discovery efforts utilizing high-throughput live cell imaging of patient-derived airway epithelial culture-based wound repair assays can be used to identify compounds that modulate airway repair in childhood asthma. Read More

Cureus 2022 Apr 22;14(4):e24371. Epub 2022 Apr 22.

Cardiovascular Surgery Division, Beirut Cardiac Institute, Beirut, LBN.

Eosinophilic myocarditis (EM) is a rare subtype of myocarditis that is characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the myocardium and is associated with peripheral eosinophilia in most cases. The diagnosis is suspected in the presence of acute myocarditis and peripheral eosinophilia and is usually confirmed by endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) before starting steroid therapy. Here, we present a case of severe idiopathic eosinophilic myocarditis in a young man with a history of asthma and peripheral eosinophilia. Read More

Curr Probl Diagn Radiol 2022 Apr 22. Epub 2022 Apr 22.

Department of Radiodiagnosis and Interventional Radiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.

Hypersensitivity reactions are characterized by inappropriate response of the immune system to an inciting antigen, which results in damage to various body tissues. Respiratory system can be involved as a part of hypersensitivity reaction by a myriad of conditions ranging from infective pathologies like tuberculosis to non-infective processes such as asthma, graft- versus host disease, sarcoidosis and vasculitic disorders. Recognition of specific imaging features in appropriate clinical setting helps in diagnosing these conditions. Read More

Respir Care 2022 07 24;67(7):842-849. Epub 2022 May 24.

Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.

Background: Residual volume (RV) is a derived lung compartment that correlates with air trapping in the context of air flow obstruction on spirometry. The significance of an isolated elevation in RV in the absence of other pulmonary function test (PFT) abnormalities is not well defined. We sought to assess the clinical and radiologic findings associated with isolated elevation in RV. Read More

Respir Care 2022 06;67(6):750-755

Department of Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, Kentucky.

COPD remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The impact of smoking and air pollution remain important causative factors. Traditional classification of COPD includes the overlap of emphysema, chronic bronchitis and asthma. Read More

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022 05 18;119(21):e2200022119. Epub 2022 May 18.

William Harvey Research Institute, Barts & The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, London, EC1M 6BQ, United Kingdom.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) produces high local concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), and its expression is associated with inflammation, cellular stress signals, and cellular transformation. Additionally, NOS2 expression results in aggressive cancer cell phenotypes and is correlated with poor outcomes in patients with breast cancer. DNA hypomethylation, especially of noncoding repeat elements, is an early event in carcinogenesis and is a common feature of cancer cells. Read More

Cells 2022 04 27;11(9). Epub 2022 Apr 27.

Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.

Bitter taste receptors (T2Rs) are G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) expressed in various cell types including ciliated airway epithelial cells and macrophages. T2Rs in these two innate immune cell types are activated by bitter products, including those secreted by , leading to Ca-dependent activation of endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS). NO enhances mucociliary clearance and has direct antibacterial effects in ciliated epithelial cells. Read More

Rev Paul Pediatr 2022 6;40:e2021101. Epub 2022 May 6.

Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess interpersonal nonsexual violence against children and adolescents in a tertiary university hospital.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed in 240 patients under nonsexual violence situation for 15 consecutive years. Data analyses included demographic data, hospital referral site, type and author of nonsexual violence, legal referral, laboratorial and imaging examinations, and outcomes. Read More

J Hosp Med 2022 Jun 27;17(6):417-426. Epub 2022 Mar 27.

Section of Hospital Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Clinical Effectiveness Team, Children's Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, USA.

Background: Previously few means existed to broadly examine variability across conditions/practices within or between hospitals for common pediatric conditions.

Objective: Our objective was to develop a novel empiric measure of variation in care and test its association with patient-centered outcomes.

Designs: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of children hospitalized from January 2016 to December 2018 using the Pediatric Hospital Information Systems database. Read More

BMC Pulm Med 2022 May 8;22(1):186. Epub 2022 May 8.

Second Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, 1-20-1 Handayama, Higashi-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, 431-3192, Japan.

Background: Mucociliary clearance (MCC) is an essential defense mechanism in airway epithelia for removing pathogens from the respiratory tract. Impaired ciliary functions and MCC have been demonstrated in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Long-acting muscarinic antagonists (LAMAs) are a major class of inhaled bronchodilators, which are used for treating asthma and COPD; however, the effects of LAMAs on ciliary function remain unclear. Read More

Radiographics 2022 May 6:210155. Epub 2022 May 6.

From the Department of Radiology, Division of Cardiothoracic Imaging (A.A., E.C.S., E.L., P.P.A.), Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, Section of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery (J.D.L.C.), Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (R.J.M.), Department of Surgery (K.H.L.), Michigan Medicine, 1500 E Medical Center Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; Department of Surgery, Ann Arbor Veterans Hospital, Ann Arbor, Mich (K.H.L.); and Department of Radiology, Division of Cardiothoracic Imaging, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Mass (D.L.).

Tracheobronchomalacia (TBM) and excessive dynamic airway collapse (EDAC) are airway abnormalities that share a common feature of expiratory narrowing but are distinct pathophysiologic entities. Both entities are collectively referred to as expiratory central airway collapse (ECAC). The or weakness of cartilage that supports the tracheobronchial tree may occur only in the trachea (ie, tracheomalacia), in both the trachea and bronchi (TBM), or only in the bronchi (bronchomalacia). Read More

Respirology 2022 May 4. Epub 2022 May 4.

School of Clinical Sciences, Monash Health & University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

World Allergy Organ J 2022 Mar 30;15(3):100638. Epub 2022 Mar 30.

Department of Ophthalmology, and Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.

Allergic fungal rhinosinusitis (AFRS) is a highly resistant disease and is challenging to treat. Patients with recurrent attacks of the disease despite surgical management can benefit from biologics as adjunct therapies. Dupilumab has shown promising endpoints in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis (CRSwNP). Read More

J Family Med Prim Care 2022 Mar 10;11(3):1198-1203. Epub 2022 Mar 10.

Department of Internal Medicine, Grant Government Medical College and Sir J. J. Group of Hospitals, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

A 45-year-old man, used to work in a cement factory, presented to us with a history of adult-onset sub-optimally controlled asthma and was initially managed as a case of acute exacerbation of allergic asthma. However, his repeated evaluation revealed raised eosinophil count, raised serum total IgE and persistent chest infiltrates on imaging. He was provisionally managed empirically with a short course of oral steroids and advised follow-up on an out-patient basis to rule out the possibility of idiopathic eosinophilic pulmonary syndromes. Read More