Ventilation homogeneity improves with growth early in life

Some studies have suggested that lung clearance index (LCI) is age-independent among healthy subjects early in life, which implies that ventilation distribution does not vary with growth. However, other studies of older children and adolescents suggest that ventilation becomes more homogenous with somatic growth. We describe a new technique to obtain multiple breath washout (MBWO) in sedated infants and toddlers using slow augmented inflation breaths that yields an assessment of LCI and the slope of phase III, which is another index of ventilation inhomogeneity. We evaluated whether ventilation becomes more homogenous with increasing age early in life, and whether infants with chronic lung disease of infancy (CLDI) have increased ventilation inhomogeneity relative to full-term controls (FT). FT (N = 28) and CLDI (N = 22) subjects between 3 and 28 months corrected-age were evaluated. LCI decreased with increasing age; however, there was no significant difference between the two groups (9.3 vs. 9.5; P = 0.56). Phase III slopes adjusted for expired volume (S(ND)) increased with increasing breath number during the washout and decreased with increasing age. There was no significant difference in S(ND) between full-term and CLDI subjects (211 vs. 218; P = 0.77). Our findings indicate that ventilation becomes more homogenous with lung growth and maturation early in life; however, there is no evidence that ventilation inhomogeneity is a significant component of the pulmonary pathophysiology of CLDI.     

Vitamin D and systemic lupus erythematosus: state of the art

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic inflammatory disease associated with genetic, environmental, hormonal, and immunological factors. One of these factors is vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D plays many roles in the immune system. Several studies have suggested a potential role in the development of autoimmune diseases. SLE patients have low serum levels of vitamin D, which increase the possibility of an association between vitamin deficiency and disease onset and evolution. This review of the literature presents an analysis of the aspects related to the immunoregulatory effects of vitamin D and its importance for SLE, as well as the recommendations for vitamin D supplementation in these patients.     

Age of onset influences on clinical and laboratory profile of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

The present study aims to evaluate differences in clinical and laboratory manifestations and medication use in the different ages of disease onset in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This cross-sectional study consisted of 598 SLE patients (550 female and 48 male), who attended the Rheumatology Clinic of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre between 2003 and 2015. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were collected. The patients were classified into three groups according to their ages at disease diagnosis. Mean age of diagnosis was 33.6 ± 14.3 years, and the median (25th–75th percentile) disease duration was 13 (7–20) years. Among the patients studied, 419 (70%) were adult-onset (aSLE), 90 (14.8%) were late-onset (lSLE) and 89 (14.8%) were childhood-onset (cSLE). The female to male ratio was higher in aSLE (18:1) compared to the other groups (p = 0.001). Arthritis was predominantly found in aSLE (78.5%) when compared with lSLE (57.7%) (p < 0.001). Nephritis was more common in cSLE (60.6%) than in lSLE (26.6%) (p < 0.001). Median (25th–75th percentile) of SLE disease activity index (SLEDAI) was higher in the cSLE group [2 (0–5)] when compared to the lSLE group [0 (0–4)] (p = 0.045). Childhood-onset SLE showed a more severe disease due to the higher incidence of nephritis and needed a more aggressive treatment with immunosuppressive drugs.