CPAP withdrawal usually leads to a rapid recurrence of OSA, a return of subjective sleepiness, and is associated with impaired endothelial function, increased urinary catecholamines, blood pressure, and heart rate. Thus the proposed study model appears to be suitable to evaluate physiological and therapeutic effects in OSA. Clinical trial registered with www.controlled-trials.com (ISRCTN93153804).

No abstract

Summary Common variable immunodeficiency disorders (CVID) are a group of heterogeneous conditions that have in common primary failure of B cell function, although numerous T cell abnormalities have been described, including reduced proliferative response and reduced regulatory T cells. This study compared the T cell phenotype of CVID patients subdivided into clinical phenotypes as well as patients with partial antibody deficiencies [immunoglobulin (Ig)G subclass deficiency and selective IgA deficiency], X‐linked agammaglobulinaemia (XLA) and healthy and disease controls. Absolute numbers of T cell subpopulations were measured by four‐colour flow cytometry: naive T cells, central and effector memory and terminally differentiated (TEM) T cells, using CD45RA and CCR7 expression. Early, intermediate and late differentiation status of T cells was measured by CD27/CD28 expression. Putative follicular T cells, recent thymic emigrants and regulatory T cells were also assessed. Significant reduction in naive CD4 T cells, with reduced total CD4 and recent thymic emigrant numbers, was observed in CVID patients, most pronounced in those with autoimmune cytopenias or polyclonal lymphoproliferation. These findings suggest a lack of replenishment by new thymically derived cells. CD8 naive T cells were reduced in CVID patients, most significantly in the autoimmune cytopenia subgroup. There was a reduction in early differentiated CD4 and CD8 T cells and increased CD8 TEM in the CVID patients, particularly autoimmune cytopenia and polyclonal lymphoproliferation subgroups, suggesting a more activated T cell phenotype, due perhaps to an antigen‐driven process. XLA patients had significantly reduced putative follicular T cells, which may depend on B cells for survival, while no significant alterations were observed in the T cells of those with IgG subclass deficiency or selective IgA deficiency.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) has been associated with cardiovascular disease in epidemiological and observational studies. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the treatment of choice for OSAS, but the impact of this intervention on systemic inflammation involved in the atherosclerotic process remains unclear. Methods: 100 men with moderate-severe OSAS were randomised to therapeutic (n = 51) or subtherapeutic (n = 49) CPAP treatment for 4 weeks to investigate the effects of active treatment on inflammatory markers such as highly sensitive C reactive protein (hsCRP), interleukin (IL)6, interferon c (IFNc) and anti-inflammatory adiponectin. Results: 4 weeks of therapeutic CPAP did not significantly change blood levels of hsCRP compared with the subtherapeutic control group (difference between median changes 20.24 mg/l (95% CI 20.88 to +0.24); p = 0.30). Plasma levels of IL6 and IFNc did not change significantly following therapeutic compared with subtherapeutic CPAP (difference between median changes +0.52 and 20.07 pg/ml (95% CI 20.72 to +1.94 and 20.81 to +0.44); p = 0.45 and p = 0.82, respectively). Furthermore, 4 weeks of therapeutic CPAP did not significantly change levels of adiponectin in plasma compared with the subtherapeutic control group (difference between median changes +0.05 pg/ml (95% CI 20.36 to +0.47); p = 0.84). If patients with hsCRP values above 8 mg/l at baseline were excluded, differences between the changes in hsCRP, IL6, IFNc and adiponectin after 4 weeks of CPAP were smaller, and again not statistically different between groups. Conclusions: 4 weeks of CPAP treatment has no beneficial effect on blood markers of inflammation and adiponectin in patients with moderate-severe obstructive sleep apnoea.The obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS) is characterised by repetitive apnoeas/hypopnoeas during sleep, associated with oxygen desaturations and sleep disruption. It has been estimated that between 2% and 4% of the adult population in Western countries suffer from clinically significant OSAS, and it is becoming more prevalent as the average population body weight rises.

SummaryLate-phase clinical trials investigating metformin as a cancer therapy are underway. However, there remains controversy as to the mode of action of metformin in tumors at clinical doses. We conducted a clinical study integrating measurement of markers of systemic metabolism, dynamic FDG-PET-CT, transcriptomics, and metabolomics at paired time points to profile the bioactivity of metformin in primary breast cancer. We show metformin reduces the levels of mitochondrial metabolites, activates multiple mitochondrial metabolic pathways, and increases 18-FDG flux in tumors. Two tumor groups are identified with distinct metabolic responses, an OXPHOS transcriptional response (OTR) group for which there is an increase in OXPHOS gene transcription and an FDG response group with increased 18-FDG uptake. Increase in proliferation, as measured by a validated proliferation signature, suggested that patients in the OTR group were resistant to metformin treatment. We conclude that mitochondrial response to metformin in primary breast cancer may define anti-tumor effect.