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The article presents the study to evaluate the long-term clinical course of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients complicated with pulmonary arterial hypertension. These patients have undergone initial workup with right-heart catheterization and pulmonary function testing, and pulmonary arterial pressure and diffusion capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) are focused. The findings revealed that DLCO is a key factor for evaluating disease status and prognosis.

The article presents a study which sought to investigate the clinical and radiographic indices associated with airflow limitation in patients with sarcoidosis. Pulmonary function tests and high-resolution computed tomography were conducted among the said group of patients. The frequency of airflow limitation was also evaluated. It was found that chest radiographic stage IV, higher age, smoking , and thickened bronchovascular bundles are associated with airflow limitation in patients.

The article examines the frequency of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and clinical parameters associated with PH in Japanese sacoidosis patients. Doppler echocardiography was used to evaluate PH. Moreover, high-resolution computed tomography of the lung was analyzed for the presence of lymph node enlargement, lung capacity and thickening of bronchovascular bundles in patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that decreased percent total lung capacity (TLC) was independently associated with PH. It also showed that there was a weak negative correlation between systolic pulmonary artery pressure and percent TLC.

Background: The finding that only 15 to 20% of cigarette smokers acquire COPD suggests that there is a genetic predisposition to the disease. Genetic polymorphism of the group-specific component of serum globulin (Ge-globulin), also known as vitamin-D-binding protein, is considered one of the candidates for the susceptibility to COPD. However, the role of Ge-globulin polymorphism in the development of COPD remains inconclusive. Study objectives: To determine whether Ge-globulin gene polymorphism plays a role in the development of COPD in the Japanese population, and whether it is associated with the physiologic deterioration in COPD, and its radiologically detectable correlates. Design: Association study. Subjects and methods: One hundred three patients with COPD and 88 healthy smokers sampled from the Japanese population were genotyped for Gc-globulin by the restriction fragment-length polymorphism method. Based on the results of the genotyping, we investigated the relationship between Cc-globulin polymorphism and a physiologic/radiologic indicator of lung function, namely, the annual decline of FEV[sub 1] (dFEV[sub 1]) in 86 patients with COPD and 21 healthy smokers. Additionally, highresolution CT parameters such as low-attenuation area percentage (LAA%) and average CT number (mean CT score) were measured in 85 patients with COPD. Results: There was an increased proportion of Gc[sup *]1F homozygotes in the patients with COPD (32%) compared with the healthy smokers (17%) [p = 0.01; odds ratio, 2.3; 95% confidence interval, 1.2 to 4.6]. Patients with COPD and the Gc[sup *]IF allele showed a larger dFEV[sub 1] (p = 0.01), higher frequency with LAA% > 60% (p = 0.01), and lower mean CT score than patients without this allele (p = 0.03). Conclusion: Gc-globulin polymorphism is significantly associated with susceptibility to COPD, and also with the severity of the disease. Key words: Gc-globulin; high-resolution CT; low-attenuation area percentage; mean CT score; polymorphism; vitamin-D binding protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]