Flagship Journal

An estimated 65 million people worldwide have moderate or severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an umbrella term used to describe a group of progressive lung diseases that obstruct airflow such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking contributes to an estimated 90% of COPD cases, as the harmful chemicals produced during tobacco combustion damage the lungs and airways. Although smoking cessation is the only intervention shown to improve COPD prognosis in smokers, many patients who try to quit continue to smoke.

Metabolic acidosis is characterised by a primary decrease in the serum bicarbonate concentration, a secondary decrease in the arterial partial pressure of CO­2, and a reduction in blood pH. Metabolic acidosis, acute or chronic, may have deleterious effects on cellular function and cause increased morbidity and mortality.

Dr Imran Ahmad. Consultant Anaesthetist and Deputy Clinical Director for Theatres, Anaesthetics and Peri-operative Medicine, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, UK; President, Difficult Airway Society (DAS); Honorary Clinical Lecturer, King’s College London, UK.

Measurement of fluid biomarkers of neurodegeneration is an emerging approach offering improved diagnostic accuracy of neuropsychiatric conditions, particularly for atypical presentations. This article reports a case where the diagnosis of delirium with dementia was revised based on biomarker analysis, enabling treatment of a primary mood disorder with resolution of recurrent disabling psychiatric symptoms.

Peter Gill | Staff Paediatrician and Associate Scientist, The Hospital for Sick Children and SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, Canada; Assistant Professor, Department of Paediatrics and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, Canada

Damian Roland | Head of Service, Children’s Emergency Department, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK; Honorary Professor, Population Health Sciences, University of Leicester, UK

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), Alzheimer’s disease (AD [named after the German psychiatrist and neuropathologist, Alois Alzheimer, who first described it]), is considered as a major or mild neuro-cognitive disorder…

Chronic pelvic pain (CPP) affects up to 25% of females of reproductive age, and 15% of all females worldwide. It is a common complaint of females visiting the gynaecology outpatient department.