The combination of EP, zinc, selenium and vitamin C may alleviate exacerbation symptoms caused by URTI in COPD. Further studies are warranted to investigate the interactions among Echinacea, zinc, selenium and vitamin C.

The prevalence of COPD in non-smoking individuals from rural and urban Vietnam and Indonesia was 6.9%, of which a significant proportion (94%) were previously undiagnosed.

The prognosis of lung cancer remains poor, and biological heterogeneity is largely responsible, especially in adenocarcinoma. We previously found that only one third of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) but most small cell lung cancer (SCLC) tissues have strong telomerase activity, representing the difference in the history of multiple clonal selections. To reveal the genes differentially involved in telomerase activation mechanisms, we analyzed the relationship between common genetic aberrations and telomerase activity in 83 lung cancer tissues. We found that half (7 of 14) of lung adenocarcinomas with high telomerase activity showed neither TP53 nor RB1 deletion, while all squamous cell carcinomas and SCLCs with high telomerase activity showed loss of heterozygosity of at least one, if not both, of these suppressor oncogenes, indicating that these genetic aberrations are not required in activation of telomerase in a unique subset of adenocarcinoma. Furthermore, whereas the aberrations in TP53, RB1 and 1p34-pter were mutually related in 42 adenocarcinoma tissues, EGFR aberrations showed no relationship to either of them. These findings indicate that EGFR activating aberrations occur independently of other common genetic aberrations or telomerase activation mechanisms in lung adenocarcinoma, and that the distinct subset of lung adenocarcinoma with high telomerase activity without any common genetic aberrations may possibly have arisen from a telomerase-positive or telomerase-competent normal cell.

No abstract

Pasien penderita penyakit paru obstruktif kronik (PPOK) tampaknya mendapatkan manfaat dari program rehabilitasi paru. Penelitian ini mengkaji manfaat program rehabilitasi paru pada pasien rawat jalan yang menderita PPOK, dengan menggunakan St George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) dan six min walking distance test (6MWD), yang mengukur kualiti hidup kesehatan dan toleransi latihan fungsional sebagai hasil pengukuran utama. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian prospektif, terbuka, acak dengan kelompok kontrol paralel yang diberikan program rehabilitasi pasien rawat jalan pada 56 pasien penderita PPOK (52 orang laki-laki dan 4 orang perempuan). Kelompok aktif (n= 27) diberikan program edukasi dan latihan selama 6 minggu. Kelompok kontrol (n= 29) diperiksa secara rutin sebagai pasien medis rawat jalan. SGRQ dan 6MWD dilakukan pada saat awal penelitian dan setelah 6 minggu. Didapatkan hasil SGRQ dan 6MWD sebelum dan sesudah terapi. Berdasarkan statistik, SGRQ menurun dan skor 6MWD meningkat secara signifikan pada kelompok aktif dibandingkan kelompok kontrol. Disimpulkan bahwa program selama 6 minggu pada pasien rawat jalan ini secara signifikan telah meningkatkan kualiti hidup dan kapasitas fungsional pasien PPOK derajat ringan hingga sedang.