Although asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) are distinct airway diseases characterized by chronic inflammation, in some cases distinguishing between them is puzzling. For example, chronic smoking l...Although asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) are distinct airway diseases characterized by chronic inflammation, in some cases distinguishing between them is puzzling. For example, chronic smoking leads asthmatic inflammation to a differentiated pattern resembling the COPD inflammation, and in some cases to fixed obstruction as in COPD, and on the other hand, few COPD patients may present with airway reversibility. ACOS is the condition sharing features encountered both in asthma and COPD. Asthma-COPD overlap syndrome(ACOS) represents a diagnostic challenge in the clinical practice, since there is lack of specific indicators to distinguish it from asthma or COPD, and moreover, genetic risk factors, underlying pathology and molecular pathways, clinical characteristics, therapeutic interventions, response to treatment and prognosis are poorly described. The management of ACOS is recommended to be individualized and should target on the maximum effectiveness with the least side effects. Combination therapy with ICS/LABA or LAMA, or newly developed specific anti-eosinophil therapies and treatments specifically targeting neutrophils might be of relevance in the management of ACOS, but studies are needed in order to assess the response and prognosis. Based on the current knowledge about ACOS thus far, it would be recommended that we approached chronic obstructive airway disease rather by describing than by classifying the disease; this would allow us to have a picture that better describes the disease and to implement an individualized therapeutic approach, according to the custom phenotype. Nevertheless, more studies are needed in order to clarify several important issues with regard to ACOS, such as the genetic risk factors for developing ACOS, the links between genotype and phenotype, the molecular pathways and underlying mechanisms of ACOS, the identification of possible specific biomarkers for diagnosis and targeted treatment, the optimal therapeutic interventions, and finally, the prognosis of ACOS.展开更多
Background:The coexistence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is termed overlap syndrome (OS).COPD and OSA both have increased risks of developing cardiovascular diseases...Background:The coexistence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is termed overlap syndrome (OS).COPD and OSA both have increased risks of developing cardiovascular diseases.This study aimed to explore if patients with OS exhibited a higher prevalence of cardiovascular complications,and if patients with OS exhibited vascular endothelial dysfunction and abnormalities in the cellular immune function of T lymphocytes.Methods:Totally 25 patients with stable COPD (COPD group),25 patients with OSA (OSA group),25 patients with OS (OS group),and 20 healthy adults (control group) were enrolled between January 2017 and December 2017 from the Respiratory Department of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital.The clinical characteristics of the four groups were collected and the expression levels of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),and T-lymphocyte subsets were detected.One-way analysis of variance,x^2 test and Pearson correlation were used to manage the data.Results:The prevalence of hypertension and coronary heart disease was significantly higher in the OS group than in the control,OSA,and COPD groups (x^2 =20.69,P < 0.05 and x^2 =11.03,P < 0.05,respectively).The levels of sVCAM-1 and TNF-α were significantly higher in the OS group than in other groups (F =127.40,P < 0.05 and F =846.77,P < 0.05,respectively).The percentage of CD4+ lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ were both significantly lower in the OS group than in any other group (F =25.40,P < 0.05 and F =75.08,P < 0.05,respectively).There were significantly negative correlations in the levels of sVCAM-1 and TNF-α with CD4^+/CD8^+ lymphocytes (r =-0.77,P < 0.05 and r =-0.83,P < 0.05,respectively).Conclusions:The prevalence of hypertension and coronary heart disease was higher in patients with OS than in patients with either OSA or COPD alone.Patients with OS exhibited more severe vascular endothelial injury,stronger inflammatory response,and lower cellular immune function.展开更多
文摘Although asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD) are distinct airway diseases characterized by chronic inflammation, in some cases distinguishing between them is puzzling. For example, chronic smoking leads asthmatic inflammation to a differentiated pattern resembling the COPD inflammation, and in some cases to fixed obstruction as in COPD, and on the other hand, few COPD patients may present with airway reversibility. ACOS is the condition sharing features encountered both in asthma and COPD. Asthma-COPD overlap syndrome(ACOS) represents a diagnostic challenge in the clinical practice, since there is lack of specific indicators to distinguish it from asthma or COPD, and moreover, genetic risk factors, underlying pathology and molecular pathways, clinical characteristics, therapeutic interventions, response to treatment and prognosis are poorly described. The management of ACOS is recommended to be individualized and should target on the maximum effectiveness with the least side effects. Combination therapy with ICS/LABA or LAMA, or newly developed specific anti-eosinophil therapies and treatments specifically targeting neutrophils might be of relevance in the management of ACOS, but studies are needed in order to assess the response and prognosis. Based on the current knowledge about ACOS thus far, it would be recommended that we approached chronic obstructive airway disease rather by describing than by classifying the disease; this would allow us to have a picture that better describes the disease and to implement an individualized therapeutic approach, according to the custom phenotype. Nevertheless, more studies are needed in order to clarify several important issues with regard to ACOS, such as the genetic risk factors for developing ACOS, the links between genotype and phenotype, the molecular pathways and underlying mechanisms of ACOS, the identification of possible specific biomarkers for diagnosis and targeted treatment, the optimal therapeutic interventions, and finally, the prognosis of ACOS.
基金a grant of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81670084).
文摘Background:The coexistence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is termed overlap syndrome (OS).COPD and OSA both have increased risks of developing cardiovascular diseases.This study aimed to explore if patients with OS exhibited a higher prevalence of cardiovascular complications,and if patients with OS exhibited vascular endothelial dysfunction and abnormalities in the cellular immune function of T lymphocytes.Methods:Totally 25 patients with stable COPD (COPD group),25 patients with OSA (OSA group),25 patients with OS (OS group),and 20 healthy adults (control group) were enrolled between January 2017 and December 2017 from the Respiratory Department of Tianjin Medical University General Hospital.The clinical characteristics of the four groups were collected and the expression levels of soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),and T-lymphocyte subsets were detected.One-way analysis of variance,x^2 test and Pearson correlation were used to manage the data.Results:The prevalence of hypertension and coronary heart disease was significantly higher in the OS group than in the control,OSA,and COPD groups (x^2 =20.69,P < 0.05 and x^2 =11.03,P < 0.05,respectively).The levels of sVCAM-1 and TNF-α were significantly higher in the OS group than in other groups (F =127.40,P < 0.05 and F =846.77,P < 0.05,respectively).The percentage of CD4+ lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ were both significantly lower in the OS group than in any other group (F =25.40,P < 0.05 and F =75.08,P < 0.05,respectively).There were significantly negative correlations in the levels of sVCAM-1 and TNF-α with CD4^+/CD8^+ lymphocytes (r =-0.77,P < 0.05 and r =-0.83,P < 0.05,respectively).Conclusions:The prevalence of hypertension and coronary heart disease was higher in patients with OS than in patients with either OSA or COPD alone.Patients with OS exhibited more severe vascular endothelial injury,stronger inflammatory response,and lower cellular immune function.
