Chronic cough as a neuropathic disorder

Chronic cough is a common symptom that can be a daunting challenge for clinicians since treatment of the underlying cause does not always provide adequate relief, an obvious cause can remain elusive, and current antitussives have fairly poor efficacy and undesirable side-effects. Patients with chronic cough typically describe a range of sensory symptoms suggestive of upper-airway and laryngeal neural dysfunction. Additionally, patients often report cough triggered by low-level physical and chemical stimuli, which is suggestive of cough-reflex hyperresponsiveness. Pathophysiological mechanisms underlying peripheral and central augmentation of the afferent cough pathways have been identified, and compelling evidence exists for a neuropathy of vagal sensory nerves after upper-respiratory viral infections or exposure to allergic and non-allergic irritants. In this Personal View, we argue that chronic cough is a neuropathic disorder that arises from neural damage caused by a range of inflammatory, infective, and allergic factors. In support of this idea, we discuss evidence of successful treatment of chronic cough with agents used for treatment of neuropathic pain, such as gabapentin and amitriptyline. Regarding cough as a neuropathic disorder could lead to new, more effective antitussives.

Up-regulated MSI2 is associated with more aggressive chronic myeloid leukemia

A better understanding of events triggering chronic myeloid leukemia progression are critical to optimised clinical management of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We sought to validate that increased Musashi 2 (MSI2), a post transcription regulator, expression is associated with progression and prognosis. Screening of 152 CML patients showed MSI2 was significantly decreased among CML patients in CP at diagnosis (p<0.0001), but found no significant difference between the normal control group and treated CML patients in CP. Moreover it was significantly increased (p<0.0001) in advance disease (AD) CML patients. Furthermore, our human hematopoietic cell line data imply MSI2 and BCR-ABL1 mRNA expression correlate. However, these data cast a doubt on earlier reports that MSI2 effects HES1 expression via NUMB-NOTCH signaling.

Walking Exercise for Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: To systematically review the evidence examining effects of walking interventions on pain and self-reported function in individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Data Sources: Six electronic databases (Medline, CINAHL, PsychINFO, PEDro, Sport Discus and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) were searched from January 1980 up to March 2014.
Study Selection: Randomized and quasi-randomized controlled trials in adults with chronic low back pain, osteoarthritis or fibromyalgia comparing walking interventions to a non-exercise or non-walking exercise control group.
Data Extraction: Data were independently extracted using a standardized form. Methodological quality was assessed using the United States Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) system.
Data Synthesis: Twenty-six studies (2384 participants) were included and suitable data from 17 were pooled for meta-analysis with a random effects model used to calculate between group mean differences and 95% confidence intervals. Data were analyzed according to length of follow-up (short-term: ≤8 weeks post randomization; medium-term: >2 months - 12 months; long-term: > 12 months). Interventions were associated with small to moderate improvements in pain at short (mean difference (MD) -5.31, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) -8.06 to -2.56) and medium-term follow-up (MD -7.92, 95% CI -12.37 to -3.48). Improvements in function were observed at short (MD -6.47, 95% CI -12.00 to -0.95), medium (MD -9.31, 95% CI -14.00 to -4.61) and long-term follow-up (MD -5.22, 95% CI 7.21 to -3.23).
Conclusions: Evidence of fair methodological quality suggests that walking is associated with significant improvements in outcome compared to control interventions but longer-term effectiveness is uncertain. Using the USPSTF system, walking can be recommended as an effective form of exercise or activity for individuals with chronic musculoskeletal pain but should be supplemented with strategies aimed at maintaining participation. Further work is also required examining effects on important health related outcomes in this population in robustly designed studies.

Different frequencies of acupuncture for treatment for chronic low back pain: an-assessor blinded pilot randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES:
To examine the feasibility of a main RCT to compare the effectiveness of two frequencies (2 versus 5 times/week) of acupuncture treatment for chronic low back pain (LBP).
METHODS:
Participants (n=30) with chronic LBP were randomised into two groups to receive 10 acupuncture treatments: Low Frequency Group, 2 times/week for five weeks (n=15); High Frequency Group, 5 times/week for two weeks (n=15). The following outcomes were measured blindly at baseline, 2 weeks, 5 weeks, 3 months and 1 year: pain on a VAS, functional disability using the RMDQ, quality of life using the Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile (MYMOP-2), psychological impact with the Coping Strategies Questionnaire (CSQ) and Pain Locus of Control (PLC) questionnaire. Two objective outcomes, the Shuttle Walk Test (SWT) and Lateral Trunk Flexibility (LTF), were also measured.
RESULTS:
The compliance rate was 100% for each group. Some of the measurements were shown to be sensitive (VAS, RMDQ, MYMOP-2 Wellbeing). 66-330 participants would be required for a fully powered non-inferiority trial. The groups were balanced at baseline for LBP and demographic characteristics. There were no significant differences between the groups in terms of any of the outcomes, at each follow-up time point. It was notable however that the clinically important improvement in terms of pain, functional disability, quality of life, and SWT in both groups was achieved within the first two weeks, which was maintained at one year follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS:
It is feasible to conduct a main RCT, to compare different frequencies of acupuncture for LBP, using sensitive measurements. Also the trend for early clinically important improvement within a minimum of four measurements is worthy of further study.

Within-host evolution of Burkholderia pseudomallei over a twelve-year chronic carriage infection

UNLABELLED: Burkholderia pseudomallei causes the potentially fatal disease melioidosis. It is generally accepted that B. pseudomallei is a noncommensal bacterium and that any culture-positive clinical specimen denotes disease requiring treatment. Over a 23-year study of melioidosis cases in Darwin, Australia, just one patient from 707 survivors has developed persistent asymptomatic B. pseudomallei carriage. To better understand the mechanisms behind this unique scenario, we performed whole-genome analysis of two strains isolated 139 months apart. During this period, B. pseudomallei underwent several adaptive changes. Of 23 point mutations, 78% were nonsynonymous and 43% were predicted to be deleterious to gene function, demonstrating a strong propensity for positive selection. Notably, a nonsense mutation inactivated the universal stress response sigma factor RpoS, with pleiotropic implications. The genome underwent substantial reduction, with four deletions in chromosome 2 resulting in the loss of 221 genes. The deleted loci included genes involved in secondary metabolism, environmental survival, and pathogenesis. Of 14 indels, 11 occurred in coding regions and 9 resulted in frameshift mutations that dramatically affected predicted gene products. Disproportionately, four indels affected lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis and modification. Finally, we identified a frameshift mutation in both P314 isolates within wcbR, an important component of the capsular polysaccharide I locus, suggesting virulence attenuation early in infection. Our study illustrates a unique clinical case that contrasts a high-consequence infectious agent with a long-term commensal infection and provides further insights into bacterial evolution within the human host.

IMPORTANCE: Some bacterial pathogens establish long-term infections that are difficult or impossible to eradicate with current treatments. Rapid advances in genome sequencing technologies provide a powerful tool for understanding bacterial persistence within the human host. Burkholderia pseudomallei is considered a highly pathogenic bacterium because infection is commonly fatal. Here, we document within-host evolution of B. pseudomallei in a unique case of human infection with ongoing chronic carriage. Genomic comparison of isolates obtained 139 months (11.5 years) apart showed a strong signal of adaptation within the human host, including inactivation of virulence and immunogenic factors, and deletion of pathways involved in environmental survival. Two global regulatory genes were mutated in the 139-month isolate, indicating extensive regulatory changes favoring bacterial persistence. Our study provides insights into B. pseudomallei pathogenesis and, more broadly, identifies parallel evolutionary mechanisms that underlie chronic persistence of all bacterial pathogens.

Rifampicin and sodium fusidate reduces the frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) isolation in adults with cystic fibrosis and chronic MRSA infection

Nosocomial transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) frequently results in chronic respiratory tract carriage. This is an increasing problem, adds to the burden of glycopeptide antibiotic use in hospitals, and represents a relative contraindication to lung transplantation. The aim of this study was to determine whether it is possible to eradicate MRSA with prolonged oral combination antibiotics, and whether this treatment is associated with improved clinical status. Adult CF patients (six male, one female) with chronic MRSA infection were treated for six months with rifampicin and sodium fusidate. Outcome data were examined for six months before treatment, on treatment and after treatment. The patients had a mean age of 29.3 (standard deviation=6.3) years and FEV(1) of 36.1% (standard deviation=12.7) predicted. The mean duration of MRSA isolation was 31 months. MRSA isolates identified in these patients was of the same lineage as the known endemic strain at the hospital when assessed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Five of the seven had no evidence of MRSA during and for at least six months after rifampicin and sodium fusidate. The proportion of sputum samples positive for MRSA was lower during the six months of treatment (0.13) and after treatment (0.19) compared with before treatment (0.85) (P<0.0001). There was a reduction in the number of days of intravenous antibiotics per six months with 20.3+/-17.6 on treatment compared with 50.7 before treatment and 33.0 after treatment (P=0.02). There was no change in lung function. Gastrointestinal side effects occurred in three, but led to therapy cessation in only one patient. Despite the use of antibiotics with anti-staphylococcal activity for treatment of respiratory exacerbation, MRSA infection persists. MRSA can be eradicated from the sputum of patients with CF and chronic MRSA carriage by using rifampicin and sodium fusidate for six months. This finding was associated with a significant reduction in the duration of intravenous antibiotic treatment during therapy.

Supervised walking in comparison with fitness training for chronic back pain in physiotherapy: results of the SWIFT single-blinded randomized controlled trial (ISRCTN17592092)

Effectiveness of brief/minimal contact self-activation interventions that encourage participation in physical activity (PA) for chronic low back pain (CLBP >12 weeks) is unproven. The primary objective of this assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial was to investigate the difference between an individualized walking programme (WP), group exercise class (EC), and usual physiotherapy (UP, control) in mean change in functional disability at 6 months. A sample of 246 participants with CLBP aged 18 to 65 years (79 men and 167 women; mean age ± SD: 45.4 ± 11.4 years) were recruited from 5 outpatient physiotherapy departments in Dublin, Ireland. Consenting participants completed self-report measures of functional disability, pain, quality of life, psychosocial beliefs, and PA were randomly allocated to the WP (n = 82), EC (n = 83), or UP (n = 81) and followed up at 3 (81%; n = 200), 6 (80.1%; n = 197), and 12 months (76.4%; n = 188). Cost diaries were completed at all follow-ups. An intention-to-treat analysis using a mixed between-within repeated-measures analysis of covariance found significant improvements over time on the Oswestry Disability Index (Primary Outcome), the Numerical Rating Scale, Fear Avoidance-PA scale, and the EuroQol EQ-5D-3L Weighted Health Index (P < 0.05), but no significant between-group differences and small between-group effect sizes (WP: mean difference at 6 months, 6.89 Oswestry Disability Index points, 95% confidence interval [CI] -3.64 to -10.15; EC: -5.91, CI: -2.68 to -9.15; UP: -5.09, CI: -1.93 to -8.24). The WP had the lowest mean costs and the highest level of adherence. Supervised walking provides an effective alternative to current forms of CLBP management.

An Appraisal of End-of-Life Care in Persons with Chronic Kidney Disease Dying in Hospital Wards

AIM: To review end-of-life care provided by renal healthcare professionals to hospital in-patients with chronic kidney disease, and their carers, over a 12-month period in Northern Ireland.

METHODS: Retrospective review of 100 patients.

RESULTS: Mean age at death was 72 years (19-95) and 56% were male. Eighty three percent of patients had a 'Not For Attempted Resuscitation' order during their last admission and this was implemented in 42%. Less than 20% of all patients died in a hospital ward. No patients had an advanced care plan, although 42% had commenced the Liverpool Care Pathway for the Dying Patient. Patients suffered excessive end-of-life symptoms. In addition, there was limited documentation of carer involvement and carer needs were not formally assessed.

CONCLUSION: End-of-life care for patients with advanced chronic renal disease can be enhanced. There is significant variation in the recording of discussions regarding impending death and little preparation. There is poor recording of the patients' wishes regarding death. Those with declining functional status, including those frequently admitted to hospital require holistic assessment regarding end-of-life needs. More effective communication between the patient, family and multi-professional team is required for patients who are dying and those caring for them.