Summary Background Hydrogen was proven to have anti-oxidative and anti-inflammation effects to various diseases. Aim We wish to investigate the acute effects of inhaled hydrogen on airway inflammation in patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Design Prospective study. Methods 2.4% hydrogen containing steam mixed gas (XEN) was inhaled once for 45 minutes in 10 patients with asthma and 10 patients with COPD. The levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interferon-γ (IFNγ), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-6 (IL-6), et al. in peripheral blood and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) before and after “XEN” inhalation were measured. Results 45 minutes “XEN” inhalation once decreased monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP1) level in both COPD (564.70 to 451.51pg/mL, P = 0.019) and asthma (386.39 to 332.76 pg/mL, P = 0.033) group, while decreased IL-8 level only in asthma group (5.25 to 4.49pg/mL, P = 0.023). The level of EBC soluble cluster of differentiation-40 ligand (sCD40L) in COPD group increased after inhalation (1.07 to 1.16pg/mL, P = 0.031), while IL-4 and IL-6 levels in EBC were significantly lower after inhalation in the COPD (0.80 to 0.64pg/mL, P = 0.025) and asthma (0.06 to 0.05pg/mL, P = 0.007) group respectively. Conclusions A single inhalation of hydrogen for 45 minitues attenuated inflammatory status in airways in patients with asthma and COPD.

No abstract

Background Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare disease that almost exclusively affects women of reproductive age. Patients are warned of the increased risks if they become pregnant. However, information on pregnancy in patients after the diagnosis of LAM is limited. Methods Patients were collected from the LAM registry study at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China. Patients with a history of pregnancy after the diagnosis of LAM were included. Medical records were reviewed, and baseline information and data during and after pregnancy were collected in May 2018. Results Thirty patients with a total of 34 pregnancies after the diagnosis of LAM were included. Livebirth, spontaneous abortion and induced abortion occurred in 10, 6 and 18 pregnancies, respectively. Sirolimus treatment was common (17/34). A total of 6/10, 5/6, and 6/18 patients with livebirths, spontaneous abortions, and induced abortions respectively, had a history of sirolimus treatment. Ten pregnancies (29.4%) had LAM-associated complications during pregnancy, including the exacerbation of dyspnea in 7 patients, pneumothorax in 3 patients (2 resulting in induced abortion and 1 successful parturition), and spontaneous bleeding of renal angiomyolipomas in 2 patients (both having successful parturition). No chylothorax was found during pregnancy. There were six pregnancies in six patients (17.6%) who had a history of livebirth after sirolimus treatment for LAM (all having successful parturition and healthy infants); two of these patients reported exacerbated dyspnea after parturition compared with before pregnancy. Conclusions Patients with LAM, especially those taking sirolimus before pregnancy, were at a higher risk of spontaneous abortion. Complications such as pneumothorax, bleeding of renal angiomyolipoma, and exacerbated dyspnea during pregnancy were common. In patients without spontaneous abortion, sirolimus discontinuation before or during pregnancy did not lead to increased adverse neonatal outcomes.