Toll-like receptors (TLRs) act as receptors for numerous stimuli of immune cells, including bacterial cell wall constituents (lipopolysaccharide [LPS] from Gram-negative bacteria and lipopeptides from Gram-positive species), plasma proteins and extracellular matrix breakdown products. TLR2 and TLR4 bind lipopeptide and LPS respectively, mediating responses of alveolar macrophages and other immune cells to bacterial infection in the lungs. Exposure of lungs to LPS leads to pro-inflammatory responses of a number of cell types, including airway smooth muscle, which secretes a number of cytokines involved in leucocyte recruitment and the Th2 polarization of immune responses. Human airway smooth muscle cells were cultured with LPS in the absence and presence of peripheral blood mononuclear cells to determine direct and leucocyte-dependent TLR-mediated responses. (more…)
One especially favored target for immune recognition is bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This macromolecule is found only in ...
Airway hyper-responsiveness in asthma may involve smooth muscle growth, a manifestation of airway remodelling. The involvement ...
Innate immunity depends on both resident and recruited leukocytes. The macrophage without doubt plays an import- ant role in the de ...
Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter of the nerve vagus, the functional effects mediated by binding to muscarinic receptors. Results ...
Eosinophil infiltration of the mucosa is a feature of asthmatic airways. Their adhesion to bronchial epithelial cells has been ...
Airway remodelling is considered to be of major importance in the pathology of asthma, with subepithelial basement membrane thickening in particular being indicative of early development of the disease and characteristic of its progression. Airway fibroblasts are central cells in the processes of remodelling: increased deposition of fibroblast-derived connective tissue proteins and differentiation of fibroblasts into contractile myofibroblasts are consistent observations in morphological studies of moderate to severe asthmatic airways. The secretory function of fibroblasts is under the control of locally produced growth factors such as vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF, see below) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). (more…)
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), originally described as a vascular permeability factor generating tissue oedema, has be ...
Local micro environmental factors are crucial in determining both susceptibility to vascular remodeling and the extent of angio ...
Tumour Necrosis Factor is a pro-inflammatory cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of asthmatic airway inflammation, hyper-react ...
Asthma is a continuing problem for healthcare, particularly in the industrialized world. Some 150 million people are estimated ...
Airway hyper-responsiveness in asthma may involve smooth muscle growth, a manifestation of airway remodelling. The involvement ...
Despite optimum drug delivery and good compliance with inhaled corticosteroids, many patients experience symptoms and exacerbations. Dose–response studies using inhaled corticosteroids have generally been unable to demonstrate any significant difference between individual doses of inhaled corticosteroids. For example, a metaanalysis evaluated eight studies (2324 asthmatics) where the effects of at least two doses of inhaled fluticasone were measured. (more…)
Current internationally recognized guidelines indicate that symptomatic asthmatics using a low to medium inhaled corticosteroid ...
Leukotrienes can be found in the airway and urine following both spontaneous exacerbations of asthma and acute exposure to bron ...
Treating allergic rhinitis may have a downstream effect on concomitant asthma and this may be due to attenuation of the underlying ...
The guidelines for asthma management recommend the use of regular inhaled corticosteroid in patients with mild persistent asthma, b ...
This study was similar to the study of Harrison and colleagues, which looked at doubling the dose of inhaled corticosteroid dur ...
Some of the immediate sequelae of injury are uncomfortably familiar: Soon after an injury occurs, the affected site and its surrounding tissues become reddened, warm, swollen, and painful. These four signs which are probably the most useful and ubiquitous diagnostic clues in all of clinical medicine are hallmarks of acute inflammation, the body’s initial physiologic reaction to tissue distress. In its simplest form, inflammation is a response carried out by blood vessels and by the endothelial cells that line them. (more…)
The response to injury usually begins with dilatation of small blood vessels in and around the injured site (figure bellow). Th ...
Once it is tethered onto the venule wall, the neutrophil or other leukocyte comes into contact with a wide variety of inflammatory ...
Acute inflammatory response constitute the first line of defense against infection pathogenesis and how immune system works as ...
Nearly all tissues, organs, and serosal cavities harbor a population of resident phagocytes. Most contain only a diffuse scattering ...
Innate immune responses are seen in a very broad range of tissues. Indeed, the Toll-like receptors (TLRs, one of the most important ...
Normally present at very low levels in plasma, antibodies of the immunoglobulin E (IgE) isotype were first discovered in 1967, decades after the description of IgA, IgG, and IM. IgE antibodies are produced primarily by plasma cells in mucosal-associated lymphoid tissue and their levels are uniformly elevated in patients suffering from atopic conditions like allergic rhinitis, asthma and atopic dermatitis. Production of allergen-specific IgE in atopic individuals is driven both by a genetic predisposition to the synthesis of this isotype as well as by environmental factors, including chronic allergen exposure. (more…)
The precise mechanisms underlying the effects of Specific Immunotherapy are not well understood but several studies have shown ...
Our current knowledge for trigger factor and food allergy intolerance is still in it infancy level. We already known that the aller ...
Treatment with omalizumab has been shown to reduce serum free IgE concentrations and to have beneficial effects on allergic airway ...
A paradigm of immune development underlies allergy development and progression in early childhood. Briefly, the immune system o ...
IgE plays an important role in allergic asthma. Reducing IgE in the airway mucosa should reduce airway inflammation. Omalizumab has ...
This study was similar to the study of Harrison and colleagues, which looked at doubling the dose of inhaled corticosteroid during an asthma exacerbation. This study investigated whether doubling the dose of budesonide inhalation in patients on regular inhaled budesonide would be beneficial during an asthma exacerbation. (more…)
The management of asthma in the community involves patient education to avoid the triggers, doubling the dose of inhaled steroi ...
The guidelines for asthma management recommend the use of regular inhaled corticosteroid in patients with mild persistent asthma, b ...
Asthma control is improved by combining inhaled corticosteroids with long acting beta-agonists but patients still require relie ...
This study evaluated budesonide formoterol efficacy and safety of a novel asthma management strategy for both maintenance and s ...
The role of oral and inhaled corticosteroids in the management of acute asthma is well known. This study compared the effects of in ...
Some features seem to be common to severe asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with reversibility of airflow limitation. The neutrophil chemoattractant leukotriene B 4 (LTB 4) may play a role in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and in some forms of asthma. In this study, 55 smokers with no disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (with or without bronchodilator reversibility of airflow limitation) or asthma underwent measurement of LTB 4 in sputum supernatants and exhaled breath condensate asthma (EBC). Both Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and asthma patients had higher levels of LTB 4 than control subjects; patients with asthma or reversible Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease exhibited significantly higher levels of LTB 4 than those with irreversible Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. (more…)
Leukotrienes are present in increased amounts in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) in patients with asthma. So far, no data have ...
The cysteinyl leukotrienes (LTC 4 , LTD 4 and LTE 4 ) are lipid mediators produced from an arachidonic acid precursor following ...
A role for Leukotriene B4 in the induction of airway hyper-responsiveness was explored through the use of transgenic mice defic ...
Adjusting the inhaled glucocorticoid dose based on indices of airway inflammation has been proposed as a means of achieving more ef ...
With the help of well-trained and experienced pulmonary function technicians, children as young as 4 to 5 years of age should b ...
Roflumilast is an oral, once-daily inhibitor of phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) that prevents the breakdown of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels, leading to inhibition of pro-inflammatory signalling. This study investigated the effects of repeated doses of 250 or 500 µg of roflumilast on airway asthma responses to allergen. (more…)
Roflumilast is an oral, once-daily PDE4 inhibitor with antiinflammatory activity in development for the treatment of asthma. Ro ...
Marimastat is a synthetic broad-spectrum matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor. This study assessed the anti-inflammatory effect ...
Treating allergic rhinitis may have a downstream effect on concomitant asthma and this may be due to attenuation of the underlying ...
Tumour Necrosis Factor is a pro-inflammatory cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of asthmatic airway inflammation, hyper-react ...
Despite optimum drug delivery and good compliance with inhaled corticosteroids, many patients experience symptoms and exacerbat ...
Asthma control is improved by combining inhaled corticosteroids with long acting beta-agonists but patients still require reliever medication for breakthrough symptoms. Periodic fluctuations in symptoms and airway inflammation are characteristics of asthma, which means that treatment requirements, especially reliever use, can vary over time. (more…)
This study evaluated budesonide formoterol efficacy and safety of a novel asthma management strategy for both maintenance and s ...
This study was similar to the study of Harrison and colleagues, which looked at doubling the dose of inhaled corticosteroid dur ...
Two long-acting ß 2 -adrenergic agonists (LABAs), salmeterol and formoterol, have been demonstrated to be safe and effective ag ...
Regular use of ß-agonists has been known to lead to tolerance to their bronchodilator effects. It is not known how quickly toleranc ...
The guidelines for asthma management recommend the use of regular inhaled corticosteroid in patients with mild persistent asthma, b ...
Allergen exposure plays a role in the development of asthma bronchial hyper-responsiveness and in the acute inflammatory response seen in asthmatic patients. Reduction of house dust mite allergens might lead to better lung function and reduction of asthma symptoms. (more…)
Exposure to allergens plays a role in the development of BHR and in the chronic inflammatory response seen in asthmatic patients. R ...
To prevent the development of allergy, allergen avoidance has to be instituted before sensitization has occurred. The specific ...
Two factors thought to influence the risk factor asthma are the promoting effect of sensitization to house dust mites and the preve ...
Asthma and allergic diseases are common in both children and adults. Their development depends on an interaction between asthma ...
Avoidance of any one of the individual risk factors associated with childhood asthma has not been successful in preventing its deve ...