Faculty Bibliography

PURPOSE: To examine the effects of lomustine (CCNU), a commonly used nitrosourea, and craniospinal radiation therapy on the subsequent development of restrictive lung disease (RLD) following treatment for malignant brain tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Pulmonary function testing with measurement of lung volume, spirometry, and diffusion capacity was performed in 28 patients who had received CCNU and/or radiation therapy as treatment for a malignant brain tumor. The median age at the time of treatment was 11.4 years (range, 3.9 to 36.7) and radiation therapy was completed 6 months to 11.6 years (median, 2.6 years) before testing. Patients were divided into four groups based on prior therapy. Group 1 received involved-field irradiation and a CCNU-containing chemotherapy regimen (n = 7); group 2, craniospinal irradiation with a boost to the primary tumor site and a CCNU-containing chemotherapy regimen (n = 6); group 3, craniospinal irradiation with a boost to the primary tumor site and a non-CCNU-containing chemotherapy regimen (n = 7); and group 4, craniospinal irradiation with a boost to the primary tumor site without chemotherapy (n = 8). RESULTS: Fourteen patients (50%) had findings consistent with RLD. One of seven patients (14.3%) who received CCNU without spinal irradiation had RLD, whereas 13 of 21 (61.9%) who received spinal irradiation with or without CCNU had RLD (P = .038), including four of eight patients treated with craniospinal irradiation alone. Logistic regression analysis showed that only spinal irradiation was a significant predictor for RLD. Patients who received spinal irradiation were 4.3 times more likely to have RLD than those who did not receive spinal irradiation. CONCLUSION: Spinal irradiation may be a risk factor for the development of RLD

We tested the hypothesis that a distractive stimulus, such as music, introduced during exercise can reduce perception of respiratory effort at any given level of exercise, whereas sensory deprivation increases effort perception. Thirty-six patients with moderate COPD participated in four sessions of symptom-limited exercise. The first session familiarized the subject with the protocol. The other sessions were performed under partial visual isolation while listening to music (M), or to grey noise (GN), or in silence (SIL), presented in randomized order. Subjects graded their respiratory effort using the Borg rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale. Total exercise time (EXT) and external work (WT) were objective indices of exercise tolerance. EXT was 22% longer with M than with either GN or SIL (p < 0.001), and WT was 44% and 53% greater with M than with GN or SIL, respectively (p < 0.001). These increases occurred at a heart rate that was only a few beats higher than during GN or SIL (104 +/- 3 bpm for M and 101 +/- 3 bpm for GN and SIL), a minimal difference that was statistically significant (p < 0.001). At every level of exercise, perceived exertion with M was lower than for either GN or SIL (p < 0.001). Although the respective RPE was higher for SIL than for GN (p < 0.01) at every level of exercise, WT and EXT were no different. These data indicate that perceived effort can be significantly influenced by external factors. This in turn suggests that the use of distractive stimuli during exercise training programs with patients with COPD may significantly decrease perceived symptoms of respiratory discomfort, thus allowing the patient to exercise to a higher intensity, and potentially achieving more effective exercise reconditioning training