OBJECTIVE To investigate the clinical and sociomedical outcome in patients with various clinical manifestations of humidifier disease and work related asthma after removal from further exposure. METHODS Follow up investigation (range 1-13 years) of respiratory symptoms, spirometry, airway responsiveness, sickness absence, and working situation in patients with (I) humidifier fever (n = 12), (...

RATIONALE Psychosocial characteristics likely play an important role in the severity of workplace disability for workers with a respiratory impairment. OBJECTIVES We performed a systematic review of the available literature to examine the impact of psychosocial characteristics on workplace disability among workers with a respiratory impairment. METHODS Following Preferred Reporting Items fo...

Mutations in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encoded subunit 6 of ATPase (ATP6) are associated with variable disease expression, ranging from adult onset neuropathy, ataxia and retinitis pigmentosa (NARP) to fatal childhood maternally inherited Leigh's syndrome (MILS). Phenotypical variations have largely been attributed to mtDNA heteroplasmy. However, there is often a discrepancy between the lev...

BACKGROUND Respiratory symptoms are common in the general population, and their presence is related to Health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The objective was to describe the association of respiratory symptoms with HRQoL in subjects with and without asthma or COPD and to investigate the role of atopy, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR), and lung function in HRQoL. METHODS The European Com...

BACKGROUND The consequences of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on daily life, encapsulated by the term "health-related quality of life" (HRQL), are important in determining appropriate home care. There is a need to understand the relative contribution of respiratory impairment, physical disability, coping, age, and socioeconomic variables on HRQL. METHODS Patients with COPD were ...

In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), respiratory muscle weakness causes ventilatory insufficiency and tissue hypoxia, which induces a number of metabolic pathways, and in particular increases erythropoietin (EPO) synthesis. EPO is a glycoprotein with neuroprotective properties that stimulates erythropoiesis. Here, EPO plasma level in a large population of ALS patients, with and without respi...

The bulk of the book consists of evaluation for disability or impairment with each system of the body. These includes: the musculoskeletal system; upper and lower extremities; all regions of the spine; the nervous system; the respiratory system; the cardiovascular system; the haematopoietic system; the visual system; ear, nose and throat; the digestive system; the genitourinary system; the endo...