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Biomedical subjects

J Just

Publications and source records attributed to J Just.

76 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Decreased phosphatidyl choline content in bronchoalveolar lavage fluids of children with bronchopulmonary dysplasia: a preliminary investigation.

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed on 12 infants who had recovered from neonatal acute respiratory failure and on 12 patients with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in order to evaluate the concentration of phosphatidyl choline (PC) in BAL fluid. These two groups were similar at birth (mean birth weight: 1,980 and 1,750 g, respectively; mean gestational age: 33.4 and 32.1 weeks respectively). Mechanical ventilation based on oxygen requirement lasted longer in the group with BPD. BAL was performed at the end of the first year of life (at 8.5 and 10.3 months, respectively) and the results were compared to control values (from infants of the same age without neonatal disease). Whereas the protein concentration in BAL fluid was similar in the two groups, a dramatic decrease of the BAL PC was found in BPD: The mean values of BAL-PC over protein ratio were 0.9 in the group without pulmonary sequelae and 0.3 in the group with BPD. These preliminary results suggest an impairment of the pulmonary surfactant metabolism in this chronic lung disease following neonatal acute respiratory failure.

Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia↗

A review of experimental studies on diesel exhaust particles and nasal epithelium alterations.

The aim of the present review is to summarize biological events in nasal epithelium after short-term exposure to diesel exhaust particles (DEP). Therefore human, animal, and in vitro studies carried out since 1987 are reviewed. Short-term exposure results included qualitative alterations characterized by immediate nasal hyperresponsiveness, antioxidant responses, marked epithelial inflammation, and a specific humoral response. In addition, studies on combined DEP/allergen challenge reported that, besides their intrinsic deleterious properties, DEP produced adjuvant-like effects on the immediate and late-phase response to allergen challenge, since they are able to mimic effects occurring after allergen challenge. DEP act deeply in nasal epithelium by (1) directing cytokine gene expression toward a Th2 profile, (2) enhancing local antigen-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) production, and (3) driving in vivo isotype switch to IgE. Furthermore, DEP can induce in allergic subjects sensitization to a neoallergen, sensitization that did not occur with exposure to the neoantigen alone. Particulate pollutants such as DEP, encountered in urban areas, are therefore thought to be contributing causal factors to the exaggerated sensitization to allergens in subjects with appropriate genetic predisposition, sensitization that they might not otherwise have experienced. These findings add weight to the hypothesis that DEP are involved in the increased prevalence of airway allergic diseases.

Allergens↗

[A retrospective survey on the respiratory course of severe bronchiolitis].

BACKGROUND: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in infancy can induce bronchial reactivity and virus-specific IgE production; these responses may favor the later development of asthma. This retrospective study examines the influences of early and severe forms of bronchiolitis on such an outcome. POPULATION AND METHODS: The files of 43 infants who had spent 1 to 24 days (mean 7.8 days) in intensive care between 1986-1990 for severe bronchiolitis with apnea and/or hypercapnia and/or hypoxemia were studied. The parents of all these children agreed to answer a standard questionnaire covering perinatal events, gestational age, number and frequency of recurrent episodes of wheezing, personal and familial history of allergy and environmental conditions. 15 of the children were preterm and 12 of them were given respiratory support during the neonatal period; 5 of these patients developed broncho-pulmonary dysplasia. RSV was isolated in 20 of 39 patients. RESULTS: 26 of the 41 surviving patients developed at least 3 episodes of wheezing over periods ranging from 5 to 54 months (mean 27.6 months): 15 of them were admitted at least once for asthma and 17 were given long-term bronchodilators and/or corticosteroids. Of the 8 patients with histories of allergy, 6 developed asthma, as did 7 of the 9 that had been in close contact with other children, and 9 of the 15 patients who had been exposed to tobacco. CONCLUSIONS: Not only is the development of asthma associated with risk factors (RSV infection, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, history of allergy, close contact with other children and exposure to tobacco) but the severity of the bronchiolitis per se is also correlated with this risk.

Asthma↗