Background and objective: Because the mortality and social burden associated with COPD is increasing, repeated surveys of the prevalence of COPD have been used to assess risk factors, detect potential patients, and establish early diagnoses and management protocols. We report the prevalence of spirometrically detected COPD in Korea in 2008, using data from the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey. Methods: Using nationwide stratified random sampling, based on the Korean Statistical Office census, 6840 subjects aged Ն19 years underwent spirometry, which was performed by four trained technicians, during 2008. The place of residence, levels of education and income and smoking status, as well as other results from a COPD survey questionnaire were also assessed.

BackgroundHemoptysis due to pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) frequently develops in Korea where the prevalence of TB is intermediate. The effect of bronchial artery embolization (BAE) on the control of massive hemoptysis has been well known. This study is designed to identify the risk factors contributing to rebleeding after BAE in patients with TB.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated risk factors and the time for rebleeding after BAE in 72 patients presenting with hemoptysis.ResultsThe overall immediate success rate of BAE was 93.1% (67 of 72 patients). Of the 29 patients (40.3%) who showed rebleeding after BAE, 13 patients experienced rebleeding within 1 month, and 14 patients between 1 month to 1 year. The existence of a shunt in angiographic finding, aspergilloma, and diabetes mellitus were risk factors of rebleeding after BAE in multivariate analysis.ConclusionBAE was very effective for obtaining immediate bleeding control in hemoptysis associated with active TB or post-TB sequelae. It is important to observe whether or not rebleeding occurs up to 1 year of BAE especially in TB patients with aspergilloma, DM, or a shunt. Even rebleeding can be managed well by second BAE.

• Bone marrow FDG uptake is correlated with serum inflammatory markers. • Bone marrow FDG uptake is an independent prognostic factor for progression-free survival. • Bone marrow FDG uptake can provide information on predicting lung cancer progression.

BackgroundOxidation plays an important role in acute lung injury. This study was conducted in order to elucidate the effect of repetitive post-treatment of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in lipopolysaccaride (LPS)-induced acute lung injury (ALI) of rats.MethodsSix-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 4 groups. LPS (Escherichia coli 5 mg/kg) was administered intravenously via the tail vein. NAC (20 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally 3, 6, and 12 hours after LPS injection. Broncho-alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lung tissues were obtained to evaluate the ALI at 24 hours after LPS injection. The concentration of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin 1β (IL-1β) were measured in BALF. Nuclear factor κB (NF-κB), lipid peroxidation (LPO), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) were measured using lung tissues. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) images were examined in each group at 72 hours apart from the main experiments in order to observe the delayed effects of NAC.ResultsTNF-α and IL-1β concentration in BALF were not different between LPS and NAC treatment groups. The concentration of LPO in NAC treatment group was significantly lower than that of LPS group (5.5±2.8 nmol/mL vs. 16.5±1.6 nmol/mL) (p=0.001). The activity of MPO in NAC treatment group was significantly lower than that of LPS group (6.4±1.8 unit/g vs. 11.2±6.3 unit/g, tissue) (p<0.048). The concentration of NF-κB in NAC treatment group was significantly lower than that of LPS group (0.3±0.1 ng/µL vs. 0.4±0.2 ng/µL) (p=0.0001). Micro-CT showed less extent of lung injury in NAC treatment than LPS group.ConclusionAfter induction of ALI with lipopolysaccharide, the therapeutic administration of NAC partially attenuated the extent of ALI through the inhibition of NF-κB activation.

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