Endothelial dysfunction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an update on mechanisms, assessment tools and treatment strategies.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex condition marked by chronic respiratory symptoms, such as cough and dyspnoea, and persistent irreversible airway obstruction, punctuated by acute episodes of exacerbations. COPD is associated with a significant mortality risk and several comorbidities, including cardiovascular diseases. The link between COPD, acute exacerbations and cardiovascular diseases has been recently acknowledged under the unifying concept of cardiopulmonary risk.

The Potential Role of Nasal Cytology in Respiratory Diseases: Clinical Research and Future Perspectives.

Nasal cytology is a non-invasive, affordable, and easily executable technique commonly used in research to study rhinitis and, to a lesser extent, chronic rhinosinusitis. It is particularly useful for the differential diagnosis of non-allergic rhinitis and for phenotyping chronic rhinosinusitis. Allergic rhinitis, asthma, and aspirin intolerance are frequent comorbidities of chronic rhinosinusitis.

A Comparison of GOLD and STAR Severity Stages in Individuals With COPD Undergoing Pulmonary Rehabilitation.

Background: Alongside the recognized Global Initiative for Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) classification, the Staging of Airflow Obstruction by Ratio (STAR) severity scheme has been proposed for categorizing COPD.

Study Question: What are the agreement and utility of the GOLD and STAR classifications in patients with severe COPD entering the rehabilitation setting?

Study Design And Methods: Medical records were reviewed in this multicenter retrospective study, examining key functional variables and their changes in a large cohort of patients with COPD undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation.

Results: A total of 1,516 participants (33.

Endotyping Chronic Respiratory Diseases: T2 Inflammation in the United Airways Model.

Over the past 15 years, the paradigm of viewing the upper and lower airways as a unified system has progressively shifted the approach to chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs). As the global prevalence of CRDs continues to increase, it becomes evident that acknowledging the presence of airway pathology as an integrated entity could profoundly impact healthcare resource allocation and guide the implementation of pharmacological and rehabilitation strategies. In the era of precision medicine, endotyping has emerged as another novel approach to CRDs, whereby pathologies are categorized into distinct subtypes based on specific molecular mechanisms.

Cardiovascular Risk Associated with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (AATD) Genotypes: A Meta-Analysis with Meta-Regressions.

Background: Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) can result in severe liver and respiratory disorders. The uninhibited elastase activity on the elastic tissue of arterial walls suggests that AATD may also impact vascular health. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis of the studies evaluating cardiovascular risk in individuals with AATD and non-AATD controls.

The Clinical Application of Established and Emerging Biomarkers for Chronic Respiratory Diseases.

Biomarkers are indicators of a pathological or physiological state, and they are essential for facilitating the diagnosis of a subclinical condition, understanding the origin or progression of a disease, stratifying the risk, and assessing the response to a specific therapeutic approach [...

Clinical Applications of Nasal Nitric Oxide in Allergic Rhinitis: A Review of the Literature.

Allergic rhinitis, a common allergic disease affecting a significant number of individuals worldwide, is observed in 25% of children and 40% of adults, with its highest occurrence between the ages of 20 and 40. Its pathogenesis, like other allergic diseases, involves innate and adaptive immune responses, characterized by immunologic hypersensitivity to environmental substances. This response is mediated by type 2 immunity.

Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation: Two Underutilized Approaches with Some Unexpected Benefits.

Although still underutilized [...

Choanal Polyp with Osseous Metaplasia: Radiological and Therapeutic Management of a Rare Case and a Review of Bone Metaplastic Lesions of Sinonasal Tract.

BACKGROUND Osseous metaplasia is a heterotopic normal bone in soft tissues. It is occasionally found in mucosal polyps of the external auditory canal, tongue, gut, stomach, nasal cavity, and uterus. Choanal polyp with osseous metaplasia originating from the lateral wall of the nasopharynx has not been previously reported.

Expression of Matrix Metalloproteinases and Their Tissue Inhibitors in Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyps: Etiopathogenesis and Recurrence.

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps is a multifactorial disease of the nasal and paranasal sinus mucosa and it includes, as comorbidities, anatomic and morphologic alterations, allergic rhinitis, and immunologic diseases. We investigated matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2, MMP-7, and MMP-9) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMP-1 and TIMP-2) concentration in different etiopathogenetical groups of patients with nasal polyposis (NP) in relation to recurrence after sinonasal surgery. The study group consisted of 45 patients with NP (those with allergic rhinitis, nonallergic rhinitis and asthma or nonallergic rhinitis, and obstruction of osteomeatal complex [OMC]) who underwent endonasal sinus surgery.

Allergic rhinitis and asthma assessment of risk factors in pediatric patients: A systematic review.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is the most prevalent allergic disease in children and can be associated with asthma (A); this association can have significant effect on child's quality of life. The objective of this work was to systematically review existing literature on the risk factors of AR and A in children to better understand the link between these two diseases. We performed a literature search over the last 25 years in PubMed and Medline.

Role of α-Tocopherol Acetate on Nasal Respiratory Functions: Mucociliary Clearance and Rhinomanometric Evaluations in Primary Atrophic Rhinitis.

Primary atrophic rhinitis is a disease of the nose and of paranasalsinuses characterized by a progressive loss of function of nasal and paranasal mucosa caused by a gradual destruction of ciliary mucosalepithelium with atrophy of serous-mucous glands and loss of bonestructures.The aim of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of topic α-tochopherol acetate (vitamin E) in patients with primary atrophicrhinitis based on subjective and objective data.We analyzed 44 patients with dry nose sensation and endoscopic evidence of atrophic nasal mucosa.

Relationship between sleep quality and rhinitis in children: role of medical treatment with isotonic and hypertonic saline.

Background: The nose represents the port of entry, the first part of the upper airway and accounts for 50% of its total resistance. Many authors identified rhinitis as relevant factor affecting quality of life, and sleep habits of sufferers and their caregiver's, particularly between 4-17 years old children. Both allergic rhinitis and non-allergic rhinitis may represent an important risk for obstructive sleep apnea syndrome in children.

CO₂ Laser for the Treatment of Auricle Schwannoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

BACKGROUND Schwannoma, also called neuroma or neurolemmoma, is a tumor originating from the Schwann cells surrounding the nerves. It is an isolated benign tumor and its transformation into malignant cancer is very rare. Relatively uncommon, it is only the 5% of all the tumors of soft tissues.

Our experience in the treatment of Malignant Fibrous Hystiocytoma of the larynx: clinical diagnosis, therapeutic approach and review of literature.

Hereditary spherocytosis (HS) and Chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) are both life threatening hemotologic diseases. They are rarely seen to occur simultaneously in one individual patient. Here we demonstrate a case of HS associated with CML in this study.

Nasal mucosa healing after endoscopic sinus surgery in chronic rhinosinusitis of elderly patients: role of topic alpha-tocopherol acetate.

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) in European country ranges in elderly patients from 4.5 to 12% of population and has a significant effect on quality of life. In these patients, rhinosinusitis is linked to immune functions changes with age and to mucosal paraphysiological alterations such as crusting formations with atrophic epithelium, variations of nasal airflow and modifications of the mucociliary clearance.

Oxidative stress in chronic otitis media with effusion.

Conclusions: The high oxidant levels in chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) observed in our research and the improvement seen in children with chronic OME after antioxidant treatment suggest that oxygen-derived free radicals play an important role in chronic OME.

Objectives: OME is a common pathologic condition characterized by nonpurulent fluid in the middle ear (ME) that leads to moderate conductive hearing loss and flat tympanogram. During OME inflammatory cells generate large amounts of superoxide radicals to improve bactericidal activity.