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Primary Nasal Epithelial Cells as a Surrogate Cell Culture Model for Type-II Alveolar Cells to Study ABCA-3 DeficiencyATP Binding Cassette Subfamily A Member 3 (ABCA-3) is a lipid transporter protein highly expressed in type-II alveolar (AT-II) cells. Mutations in ABCA3 can result in severe respiratory disease in infants and children. To study ABCA-3 deficiency in vitro, primary AT-II cells would be the cell culture of choice although sample accessibility is limited. Our aim was to investigate the suitability of primary nasal epithelial cells, as a surrogate culture model for AT-II cells, to study ABCA-3 deficiency.
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Ventilatory response and stability of oxygen saturation during a hypoxic challenge in very preterm infantsPreterm infants have immature control of breathing and impaired pulmonary gas exchange. We hypothesized that infants with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) have a blunted ventilatory response and peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2 ) instability during a hypoxic challenge.
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Role of Tris-CaEDTA as an adjuvant with nebulised tobramycin in cystic fibrosis patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections: A randomised controlled trialWe tested if disrupting iron utilisation by P. aeruginosa by adding the Tris-buffered chelating agent CaEDTA to nebulised tobramycin would enhance bacterial clearance and improve lung function in CF patients.
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Phage therapy for multi-drug resistant respiratory tract infectionsThe emergence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria is recognised today as one of the greatest challenges to public health. As traditional antimicrobials are becoming ineffective and research into new antibiotics is diminishing, a number of alternative treatments for MDR bacteria have been receiving greater attention. Bacteriophage therapies are being revisited and present a promising opportunity to reduce the burden of bacterial infection in this post-antibiotic era.
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Associations between respiratory and vascular function in early childhoodThe link between respiratory and vascular health is well documented in adult populations. Impaired lung function is consistently associated with thicker arteries and higher incidence of cardiovascular disease. However, there are limited data on this relationship in young children and the studies that exist have focussed on populations at high risk of cardiorespiratory morbidity.
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Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS IIIA) mice have increased lung compliance and airway resistance, decreased diaphragm strength, and no change in alveolar structureMucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (MPS IIIA) is characterized by neurological and skeletal pathologies caused by reduced activity of the lysosomal hydrolase, sulfamidase, and the subsequent primary accumulation of undegraded heparan sulfate (HS). Respiratory pathology is considered secondary in MPS IIIA and the mechanisms are not well understood.
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Early treatment with fluvoxamine, bromhexine, cyproheptadine, and niclosamide to prevent clinical deterioration in patients with symptomatic COVID-19: a randomized clinical trialRepurposed drugs with host-directed antiviral and immunomodulatory properties have shown promise in the treatment of COVID-19, but few trials have studied combinations of these agents. The aim of this trial was to assess the effectiveness of affordable, widely available, repurposed drugs used in combination for treatment of COVID-19, which may be particularly relevant to low-resource countries.
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Net benefit of smaller human populations to environmental integrity and individual health and wellbeingThe global human population is still growing such that our collective enterprise is driving environmental catastrophe. Despite a decline in average population growth rate, we are still experiencing the highest annual increase of global human population size in the history of our species-averaging an additional 84 million people per year since 1990.
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Considerations for Causal Inference StudiesRachel Foong BSc (hons), PhD, MBiostat Honorary Research Associate 08 6319 1626 Rachel.Foong@thekids.org.au Senior Research Fellow Dr Foong is an
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A Small Device May Deliver King-Sized Solutions for Patients With an Exacerbation of Cystic FibrosisThe aim is to examine whether using a portable spring-infusor device to deliver antibiotics compared with a standard infusion pump (SIP) translated to (i) improve health outcomes, (ii) reduce the length of stay (LoS), and (iii) reduce cost for treatment of exacerbations of cystic fibrosis.