Publications by authors named "Nancy W Lin"
Background: Individuals with sarcoidosis face many sources of illness uncertainty, including diagnostic delays, unpredictable therapeutic efficacy and toxicity, and disease-associated morbidity and mortality. Patient perspectives on illness uncertainty in sarcoidosis have not been evaluated critically and offer an opportunity for providers to contextualize and prioritize gaps in care and patient support.
Research Question: How do patients with sarcoidosis describe their lived experiences with the disease and challenges they face in receiving care?
Study Design And Methods: We conducted semistructured qualitative interviews with patients with biopsy-proven pulmonary sarcoidosis receiving treatment for the disease who were seen at a tertiary sarcoidosis center of excellence.
Background: Sarcoidosis is a heterogeneous granulomatous disease with no accurate biomarkers of disease progression. Therefore, we profiled and integrated the DNA methylome, mRNAs, and microRNAs to identify molecular changes associated with sarcoidosis and disease progression that might illuminate underlying mechanisms of disease and potential biomarkers.
Methods: Bronchoalveolar lavage cells from 64 sarcoidosis subjects and 16 healthy controls were used.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to determine if the 3-year changes in pulmonary function in sarcoidosis patients varied by pulmonary function type, race, and sex.
- Out of 291 patients, those with restrictive pulmonary function experienced a more significant decline in lung capacity compared to patients with a normal phenotype, with black individuals showing worse pulmonary function at the start and a stable or declining trajectory over time.
- The findings indicated notable disparities in pulmonary function changes based on race, but no differences were observed between male and female patients.
Article Synopsis
- * A review of data from NIOSH and OSHA identified nine heat-related deaths and 50 hospitalizations between 2014 and 2021, with risk factors including lack of acclimatization, inadequate training, and substance use.
- * The report emphasizes the need for improved heat stress training, medical screenings, and supportive recovery programs to mitigate risks and reduce heat-related health issues in the industry.
Article Synopsis
- Clinical and histological similarities between sarcoidosis and tuberculosis have led to investigations into the potential mycobacterial cause of sarcoidosis, with the term "anonymous mycobacteria" being used in discussions for over 50 years.
- Both diseases have a tendency to affect the lungs and share a key histopathologic feature known as granulomas, but they differ in structure, with sarcoidosis presenting non-caseating granulomas and tuberculosis having caseating granulomas.
- The article suggests that Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis (MAP), a known infectious agent in animals, may play a significant role in the development of sarcoidosis, similar to its involvement in Crohn's disease, though there is
Article Synopsis
- - The study focuses on sarcoidosis, a complex disease that lacks clear diagnostic markers, through the analysis of DNA methylation, mRNA, and microRNA to uncover molecular changes related to the disease and its progression.
- - Researchers analyzed bronchoalveolar lavage cells from 64 sarcoidosis patients and 16 healthy individuals, using advanced genomic techniques to identify key changes, including 46,812 CpGs, 1,842 mRNAs, and several miRNAs linked to the disease.
- - The findings highlighted the importance of the PI3K/AKT1 signaling pathway and discovered potential biomarkers that could aid in diagnosing and understanding sarcoidosis, paving the way for future research to verify these results.
Sex-Specific Differences in MicroRNA Expression During Human Fetal Lung Development.
Front Genet
April 2022
Sex-specific differences in fetal lung maturation have been well described; however, little is known about the sex-specific differences in microRNA (miRNA) expression during human fetal lung development. Interestingly, many adult chronic lung diseases also demonstrate sex-specific differences in prevalence. The developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis suggests that these sex-specific differences in fetal lung development may influence disease susceptibility later in life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Most phenotyping paradigms in sarcoidosis are based on expert opinion; however, no paradigm has been widely adopted because of the subjectivity in classification. We hypothesized that cluster analysis could be performed on common clinical variables to define more objective sarcoidosis phenotypes.
Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 554 sarcoidosis cases to identify distinct phenotypes of sarcoidosis based on 29 clinical features.
Occupational exposures and sarcoidosis: current understanding and knowledge gaps.
Curr Opin Pulm Med
March 2022
Purpose Of Review: Sarcoidosis is an idiopathic granulomatous disease that primarily affects the lungs. Several lines of evidence suggest that occupational exposures are associated with disease risk. This review critically evaluates studies using the Bradford Hill criteria for causation to determine if a causal relationship can be established between occupational exposure and sarcoidosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground Previous gene expression studies have identified genes IFNγ, TNFα, RNase 3, CXCL9, and CD55 as potential biomarkers for sarcoidosis and/or chronic beryllium disease (CBD). We hypothesized that differential expression of these genes could function as diagnostic biomarkers for sarcoidosis and CBD, and prognostic biomarkers for sarcoidosis. Study Design/Methods We performed RT-qPCR on whole blood samples from CBD (n = 132), beryllium sensitized (BeS) (n = 109), and sarcoidosis (n = 99) cases and non-diseased controls (n = 97) to determine differential expression of target genes.
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