two main forms of copd (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) refer to a group of lung diseases that block airflow and cause a huge degree of human suffering. a new method for identifying and estimating the severity of copd from three-dimensional (3-d) pulmonary x-ray ct images would be helpful for evaluation of treatment effects and early diagnosing is presented in this paper. this method has...

RATIONALE Physical activity is reduced in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD has a systemic component that includes significant extrapulmonary effects that may contribute to its severity in individual patients. OBJECTIVES To investigate the association of extrapulmonary effects of the disease and its comorbidities with reduced physical activity in patients with C...

BACKGROUND Plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) are elevated in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and may have a role in preventing oedema formation in these patients. METHODS Plasma ANP levels were measured in 60 patients with COPD and these measurements were related to pulmonary haemodynamics, response to treatment during exacerbations, and clinical pat...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with a chronic inflammatory response in airways and lung parenchyma that results in significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Cigarette smoking considered as an important risk factor plays a role in pathogenesis of disease. Pneumocystis jirovecii is an atypical opportunistic fungus that causes pneumonia in immunosuppressed host, al...

Data on the clinical outcomes and role of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels in patients with chronic cor pulmonale are limited. A total of 69 patients with chronic cor pulmonale, admitted for dyspnea (January 2007 to September 2011) to three university hospitals, were retrospectively reviewed. All of the patients had right ventricular (RV) dysfunction on echocardiography. The median age wa...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive fibro-proliferative disorder refractory to current therapy commonly complicated by the development of pulmonary hypertension (PH); the associated morbidity and mortality are substantial. Natriuretic peptides possess vasodilator and anti-fibrotic actions, and pharmacological augmentation of their bioactivity ameliorates ...

INTRODUCTION Chronic mitral regurgitation is often accompanied by left atrial and ventricular remodeling and elevated natriuretic peptide levels. Our aim was to examine the relation between severe preoperative left atrial enlargement and changes in hemodynamics and natriuretic peptide levels after mitral valve surgery. METHODS A prospective study was conducted including 40 consecutive patient...

REFERENCES 1. National Clinical Guideline Centre. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: management of adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in primary and secondary care. Updated. London: National Clinical Guideline Centre, 2010. 2. Department of Health/Respiratory Team. Consultation on a strategy for services for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in England. London, Dep...