Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Body Height ; Body Weight ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Probability ; Respiratory Function Tests ; standards ; Singapore

Adolescent ; Adrenergic beta-Agonists ; therapeutic use ; Adult ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; Bronchodilator Agents ; therapeutic use ; Butylamines ; therapeutic use ; Ethanolamines ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Heart Rate ; drug effects ; Hemodynamics ; drug effects ; Humans ; Injections, Subcutaneous ; Male ; Regional Blood Flow ; drug effects ; Resorcinols ; therapeutic use

Administration, Topical ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aerosols ; Anti-Inflammatory Agents ; administration & dosage ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; Beclomethasone ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Glucocorticoids ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prednisolone ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Time Factors

Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Body Height ; Body Weight ; China ; Continental Population Groups ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Singapore ; Spirometry

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Albuterol ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; Child ; Female ; Heart Rate ; drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Terbutaline ; pharmacology ; therapeutic use

Adolescent ; Adult ; Asthma ; drug therapy ; Czechoslovakia ; History of Medicine ; Humans ; Injections, Subcutaneous ; Isoquinolines ; administration & dosage ; Mental Disorders ; drug therapy ; Psychiatry ; history ; Terbutaline ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use ; Tranquilizing Agents ; history ; therapeutic use ; Tretoquinol ; administration & dosage ; therapeutic use

Background: Neuropathic symptoms and signs are common in the elderly and are often considered normal fi ndings. However, symptomatic polyneuropathy may contribute to disability and falls in the elderly. The prevalence of peripheral neuropathy in the elderly in Malaysia has not been previously reported. The objective of this pilot study is to determine the frequency of symptomatic sensory polyneuropathy in a group of elderly subjects in the community and their possible associated factors. Methods: Cross sectional survey of subjects aged 65 years and above, carried out in an urban neighbourhood in Petaling Jaya. Using a standardised questionnaire, subjects were asked about sensory neuropathic symptoms, associated medical conditions and social habits. They were examined for the ankle refl ex, vibration, joint position, and pinprick sensations. Possible symptomatic sensory polyneuropathy was defi ned as bilateral distal neuropathic symptoms, loss of pinprick sensation and proprioception sense. Results: Of the 100 subjects, 63% had neuropathic symptoms and signs and 20% had possible symptomatic sensory polyneuropathy. Subjects with polyneuropathy complained of more postural instability and giddiness and distal weakness. Diabetes mellitus was associated with the presence of neuropathic symptoms and signs but not with polyneuropathy. Age was signifi cantly associated with polyneuropathy. Conclusion: The frequency of symptomatic sensory polyneuropathy in a group of elderly subj

The macrophage scavenger receptor SR-AI binds to host tissue debris to perform clearance and it binds to bacteria for phagocytosis. In addition, SR-AI modulates macrophage activation through cell signaling. However, investigation of SR-AI signaling on macrophages is complicated due to its promiscuous ligand specificity that overlaps with other macrophage receptors. Therefore, we expressed SR-AI on HEK 293T cells to investigate its ligand binding and signaling. On 293Tcells, SR-AI could respond to E. coli DH5α, leading to NF-κB activation and IL-8 production. However, this requires E. coli DH5α to be sensitized by fresh serum that is treated with heat-inactivation or complement C3 depletion. Anti-C3 antibody inhibits the binding of SR-AI to serum-sensitized DH5α and blocks DH5α stimulation of SR-AI signaling. Further analysis showed that SR-AI can directly bind to purified iC3b but not C3 or C3b. By mutagenesis, The SRCR domain of SR-AI was found to be essential in SR-AI binding to serum-sensitized DH5α. These results revealed a novel property of SR-AI as a complement receptor for iC3b-opsonized bacteria that can elicit cell signaling.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Carrier Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Complement C3b ; metabolism ; Escherichia coli ; immunology ; HEK293 Cells ; Humans ; Macrophage Activation ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Mutagenesis ; NF-kappa B ; genetics ; metabolism ; Phagocytosis ; Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors ; Signal Transduction

The Ministry of Health (MOH) has updated the Clinical Practice Guidelines on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to provide doctors and patients in Singapore with evidence-based treatment for COPD. This article reproduces the introduction and executive summary (with recommendations from the guidelines) from the MOH Clinical Practice Guidelines on COPD, for the information of SMJ readers. Chapters and page numbers mentioned in the reproduced extract refer to the full text of the guidelines, which are available from the Ministry of Health website: https://www.moh.gov.sg/content/moh_web/healthprofessionalsportal/doctors/guidelines/cpg_medical.html. The recommendations should be used with reference to the full text of the guidelines. Following this article are multiple choice questions based on the full text of the guidelines.
Adult ; Aged ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Palliative Care ; Prevalence ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Pulmonary Medicine ; standards ; Quality Improvement ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Risk Factors ; Singapore ; Steroids ; therapeutic use