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Purpose COPD is a multisystem disease and there is a need for clinical serum markers that can assess the decline in lung and muscle function in COPD. The goal of this study was to evaluate the potential association of serum club-cell protein 16 (CC16), α-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP) and total sialic acid (TSA) with spirometry, hand-grip strength and quality of life to assess important disease outcomes. Methods This is a population-based cross-sectional study and data were collected from the patients at teaching hospitals of Gomal University and the University of Health Sciences in Pakistan. The study population included 1582 participants (Non-COPD; N = 788, COPD; N = 845) >55 years of age from both sexes, with data from structural interviews, clinical examinations, laboratory investigations, spirometry and hand-grip strength measurements. Results Serum TSA and CC16 were significant predictors of FEV1% (p less then 0.05) and hand-grip strength in advanced stages of COPD (p less then 0.05 each) in both sexes. Men had higher absolute and adjusted hand-grip strength than women in all groups (p less then 0.05). Hand-grip strength was significantly associated with FEV1% in both genders (p less then 0.05) with stronger effect in women (r2 = 0.075). Serum HDL-C was an independent predictor of hand-grip strength and FEV1% (p less then 0.05) in both genders. Participants with extreme problem on EQ-5D parameters had more severe COPD and reduced hand-grip strength (all p values less then 0.05). Conclusion Taken together, these studies show that the serum expressions of TSA and CC16 have correlations with spirometry and muscle decline in COPD. Further studies should be conducted to establish their efficacy in monitoring disease progression in COPD. © 2020 Qaisar et al.Background and Purpose Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common chronic inflammatory disease, which is associated with various comorbidities including osteoporosis. Interleukin(IL)-17 has been reported to play important roles in the pathogenesis of COPD and also associated with bone destruction in inflammatory diseases. However, the role of IL-17A in COPD-related osteoporosis is yet unknown. The purpose of our study was to investigate the potential contribution of IL-17A in COPD-related bone loss. Materials and Methods We examined the bone mass and bone microarchitecture in wild-type and IL-17A-/- mice exposed to long-term cigarette smoke (CS). Osteoclast activities and the expression of receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) in bone tissues were assessed, and the blood levels of inflammatory cytokines were measured. Results Less bone loss as well as attenuated emphysema were shown in IL-17A-/- mice compared with wild-type mice. CS-exposed IL-17A-/- mice had decreased TRAP+ osteoclast numbers and lower RANKL expression compared with CS-exposed wild-type mice. Inflammatory cytokines including IL-6 and IL-1β in circulation were decreased in IL-17A-/- mice exposed to CS compared with wild-type mice. Conclusion This study indicates that IL-17A is involved in CS-induced bone loss and may be a common link between COPD and osteoporosis. © 2020 Xiong et al.Rationale The potential benefits of statins for the prevention of exacerbations in patients with COPD remains controversial. No previous studies have investigated the impact of statins on clinical outcomes in COPD patients with frequent exacerbations. Objective This study aimed to evaluate the association between the use of statins and the risk of subsequent hospitalized exacerbations in COPD frequent exacerbators. Materials and Methods We conducted a population-based cohort study using the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. 139,223 COPD patients with a first hospitalized exacerbation between 2004 and 2012 were analyzed. Among them, 35,482 had a second hospitalized exacerbation within a year after the first exacerbation, and were defined as frequent exacerbators. 14 propensity score matching was used to create matched samples of statin users and non-users. PD-1/PD-L1 Inhibitor 3 The competing risk regression analysis model was used to evaluate the association between statin use and exacerbation risk. Results The usized exacerbation and in specified COPD frequent exacerbators. © 2020 Lin et al.Background and Aim Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a rather common comorbid condition among patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), while evidence of how this comorbidity affects prognosis is limited. This study aimed to investigate the associations between COPD comorbidity and prognoses of patients who were admitted to the ICU for non-COPD reasons, and to examine whether the associations varied between different types of ICU. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed using data extracted from a freely accessible critical care database (MIMIC-III). Adult (≥18 years) patients of first ICU admission in the database were enrolled as study participants but those with a primary diagnosis of COPD were excluded. The primary endpoint was 28-day mortality after ICU admission and multivariable Cox regression analyses were employed to assess the associations between COPD comorbidity and the study endpoints. Different adjusting models including a propensity score were used to adjust p non-COPD reasons, especially for those admitted to the cardiac surgery recovery unit. © 2020 Huang et al.Purpose Asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap (ACO), characterized by airway limitation, is an important condition with high incidence and mortality. Although some guidelines recommend triple therapy with inhaled corticosteroids/long-acting muscarinic antagonists/long-acting β2 agonists, this treatment approach is based on the extrapolation of data from studies of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) alone. Methods A 12-week, randomized, open-label cross-over pilot study was conducted in 19 patients with ACO to investigate the effect of triple therapy with glycopyrrolate (GLY) 50 µg/day on budesonide/formoterol fumarate (BUD/FORM) 640/18 µg/day. The study period included a 4-week wash-out, 4-week run-in, and 4-week treatment period. Respiratory function tests, fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO), a COPD assessment test (CAT) and an asthma control questionnaire (ACQ) were carried out 0, 4, and 8 weeks after randomization. Results A total of 19 patients with stable ACO (19 males and no females) with a mean age of 70.