MUSCLES ARE AFFECTED BY CIGARETTE SMOKING
A new study has revealed the effects of smoking on skeletal muscles. Researchers from Venezuela studied the vastus lateralis muscle in 14 smokers and 20 nonsmoking control subjects. Elements such as muscle structure, enzyme activity, constitutive and inducible nitric oxide synthases, and the presence of macrophages were analyzed. Researchers found that some muscular structural and metabolic damage was present in the smokers, but they did not exhibit local inflammation. In addition, the findings suggest a possible effect of tobacco smoke impairing the normal process of nitric oxide generation. This study is published in the January issue of the journal CHEST.
FLU VACCINE MAY NOT BE NECESSARY FOR PATIENTS WITH ALPHA-1 DEFICIENCY
The influenza vaccine is recommended for all patients with COPD, including those with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD). However, a new study shows that while people with AATD receive adequate vaccination, it may not have a significant impact on disease exacerbations. Researchers from the University of Miami, the Miami-Dade Health Department, and National Jewish Medical and Research Center conducted monthly phone calls with 939 subjects with AATD during the 2003-2004 flu season, 81% of whom received a vaccine. No significant differences were noted in the number or severity of acute exacerbations between patients who received the vaccine and those who did not. Researchers also found that there were no significant differences in the scheduled visits, emergency room visits, or hospitalizations between the two groups. This study is published in the January issue of the journal CHEST.
ICU MEDICAL CARE AT THE END OF LIFE CONTINUES TO RISE
As a result of hospice expansion in the 1990s, it was believed that ICU use would decrease over time in older adults with advanced lung cancer. However, new research from the University of Texas Medical Branch - Sealy Center on Aging shows that the opposite is true. Using retrospective analysis, researchers determined that ICU use for patients in the last 6 months of life increased from 17.5% in 1993 to 24.7% in 2002, and that there was a 6.6% annual increase in ICU use from 1992 to 2002. However, researchers also noted that there was an increase in hospice care during that time. This study is published in the January issue of the journal CHEST.