Eosinophil infiltration of the mucosa is a feature of asthmatic airways. Their adhesion to bronchial epithelial cells has been proposed to lead to the generation of inflammation mediators which may contribute to asthma pathology. Bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B cell line) and peripheral blood eosinophils were cultured alone or in combination and the production of an inflammatory cytokine, IL-6, was measured. IL-6 was produced principally by epithelial cells and the production was enhanced more than 10-fold in the presence of eosinophils. Significant augmentation of epithelial IL-6 production persisted even when eosinophils were fixed with paraformaldehyde. The eosinophil-induced IL-6 production was extensively inhibited by inhibitors of p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase or nuclear factor ??B (NF??B). (more…)
Exacerbations of asthma are frequently associated with rhinoviral infection. Rhinoviruses infect respiratory epithelial cells, ...
Toll-like receptors (TLRs) act as receptors for numerous stimuli of immune cells, including bacterial cell wall constituents (l ...
Airway hyper-responsiveness in asthma may involve smooth muscle growth, a manifestation of airway remodelling. The involvement ...
Contact of pathogens with the innate immune system will most frequently occur at epithelia, and the biology of the airway epitheliu ...
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), originally described as a vascular permeability factor generating tissue oedema, has be ...
Two long-acting ß 2 -adrenergic agonists (LABAs), salmeterol and formoterol, have been demonstrated to be safe and effective agents in children, both in terms of bronchodilation and prevention of exercise-induced bronchospasm. Their onsets of action differ, with formoterol having an onset similar to albuterol (3 minutes), while salmeterol has a slower onset of action (10–20 minutes). Following a single-dose administration, both agents demonstrate durations of action up to 12 hours. Following regular twice-daily administration, bronchodilation remains effective; however, a level of tolerance (or tachyphylaxis) (more…)
For most patients, asthma is not controlled as defined by guidelines; whether this is achievable has not been prospectively stu ...
This study evaluated budesonide formoterol efficacy and safety of a novel asthma management strategy for both maintenance and s ...
Asthma control is improved by combining inhaled corticosteroids with long acting beta-agonists but patients still require relie ...
Regular use of ß-agonists has been known to lead to tolerance to their bronchodilator effects. It is not known how quickly toleranc ...
Current internationally recognized guidelines indicate that symptomatic asthmatics using a low to medium inhaled corticosteroid ...
Cromolyn sodium and nedocromil sodium are inhaled agents that are alternatives to inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in the management of mild persistent asthma in children. Both drugs have been shown to possess anti inflammatory properties through nonsteroidal mechanisms, although the exact mechanisms for their actions remain unclear. (more…)
Roflumilast is an oral, once-daily PDE4 inhibitor with antiinflammatory activity in development for the treatment of asthma. Ro ...
Two long-acting ß 2 -adrenergic agonists (LABAs), salmeterol and formoterol, have been demonstrated to be safe and effective ag ...
Exercise-induced asthma is a feeling of shortness of breath, with the presence of cough, wheezing, and chest tightness after physic ...
Maintenance of asthma control by once-daily inhaled ciclesonide nasal spray in adults with persistent asthma. Ciclesonide is an ...
Up to 85% of asthmatics patients have symptoms of wheezing during or after exercise. Moreover, many patients diagnosed with all ...
Vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) is a functional respiratory tract disorder resulting from paradoxical adduction of the vocal cords, complicates the diagnosis and management of common respiratory tract problems, including asthma. The recognition of VCD in a patient with atypical or difficult-to-control asthma is critical in minimizing symptoms and potential side-effects associated with treatment of severe asthma. The symptoms of VCD are not unique to the disorder and include cough, wheeze, stridor, dyspnea, hoarseness, and choking. (more…)
With the help of well-trained and experienced pulmonary function technicians, children as young as 4 to 5 years of age should b ...
Asthma is a frightening condition. I have lived with asthma symptoms for 17 years and the thought of an allergy induced asthma atta ...
In 2004, there were 2.4 million children aged 5 to 14 years, or 5.9% of this population group, with a self-reported asthma atta ...
A history of cough, dyspnea, wheezing, chest tightness or performance problems during exercise suggests the person may have Exercis ...
How to properly make clinical diagnosis of acute severe asthma? There is little doubt of the accuracy of current asthma testing ...
Exposure and allergic sensitization to cockroach was associated with a significantly greater risk of asthma hospitalization and greater healthcare utilization among 476 children aged 4 to 9 years who participated in the National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study. Allergic sensitization to the mold Alternaria has been identified as a significant allergen in terms of increasing airway hyperresponsiveness and was associated with a nearly 200-fold increased risk of respiratory arrest due to asthma, emphasizing the importance of determining underlying allergic sensitivities in patients with asthma and providing patients with accurate and practical advice on allergen avoidance techniques. (more…)
Sensitization to pets remains a risk factor for asthma and rhinitis, and can occur in people who have never lived with a pet. S ...
The two strongest risk factors for asthma in childhood are a family history and immediate hypersensitivity to common allergens. ...
More severe asthma can persist from childhood into adulthood without remission. Another important tendency in the natural histo ...
Natural history studies with the following design features provide a firm epidemiologic foundation for risk factor assessments and ...
In the Tucson CRS study, about 50% of young children experienced a period of recurrent wheezing and/or coughing in the first 6 ...
The prevalence of aspirin-sensitive asthma is uncertain although it may exist in up to 20% of all asthmatics patients. The characteristic features include profound bronchoconstriction asthma following aspirin ingestion, rhinosinusitis, nasal polyps, and abdominal cramps. Aspirin and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs selectively inhibit COX-1, which in turn shunts arachidonic acid down the 5-lipoxygenase activating protein pathway, causing overproduction of cysteinyl leukotrienes. As a consequence, elevated levels of cysteinyl leukotrienes can be found in bronchial asthma and nasal aspirates, and in urine following aspirin challenge. (more…)
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) as one of the popular pain reliever is among regular aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil a ...
Leukotrienes can be found in the airway and urine following both spontaneous exacerbations of asthma and acute exposure to bron ...
Despite optimum drug delivery and good compliance with inhaled corticosteroids, many patients experience symptoms and exacerbat ...
The cross-sensitivity between aspirin and Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs in patients who manifest pseudo-allergic reacti ...
Current internationally recognized guidelines indicate that symptomatic asthmatics using a low to medium inhaled corticosteroid ...
More severe asthma can persist from childhood into adulthood without remission. Another important tendency in the natural history is for symptoms to remit in adolescence only to return again in adulthood. In general, the amount of wheezing in early adolescence seems to be a guide for severity in early adult years, with 73% of those with few symptoms at age 14 years continuing to have little or no asthma progression at age 28 years. Similarly 68% of those with frequent wheezing at 14 years still suffered from recurrent asthma at age 28 years. Most subjects with frequent wheezing at 21 years continued to have comparable asthma at 28 years. In addition to the importance of symptoms in childhood, childhood degree of bronchial responsiveness in combination with a low FEV-1 were also related to the outcome of asthma in adulthood. (more…)
In the Tucson CRS study, about 50% of young children experienced a period of recurrent wheezing and/or coughing in the first 6 ...
Exposure and allergic sensitization to cockroach was associated with a significantly greater risk of asthma hospitalization and ...
With the help of well-trained and experienced pulmonary function technicians, children as young as 4 to 5 years of age should b ...
Asthma is a complex syndrome rather than a single disease entity. Different phenotypes with varying prognosis and determinants have ...
It is clear from the results of large epidemiologic studies that while atopy is a major risk factor for asthma, it is usually n ...
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 ...
A role for Leukotriene B4 in the induction of airway hyper-responsiveness was explored through the use of transgenic mice deficient in the BLT1 receptor for LTB4 . Ovalbumin challenge of sensitized wild-type mice resulted in the usual features of experimental asthma, including goblet cell hyperplasia, hyper-responsiveness to inhaled methacholine and elevated BAL fluid concentrations of the Th2 cytokine IL-13. In contrast, BLT1 –/– mice (i.e. genetically modified mice lacking the gene coding for the BLT1 receptor) exhibited significantly lower responses. BLT1 –/– mice also exhibited lower numbers of IL-13-positive T lymphocytes of both the helper (CD4 T Cells) and cytotoxic/suppressor (CD8 + ) types. (more…)
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), originally described as a vascular permeability factor generating tissue oedema, has be ...
Airway hyper-responsiveness in asthma may involve smooth muscle growth, a manifestation of airway remodelling. The involvement ...
IgE plays an important role in allergic asthma. Reducing IgE in the airway mucosa should reduce airway inflammation. Omalizumab has ...
Some features seem to be common to severe asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease with reversibility of airflow limita ...
Antihistamines have been shown to be effective in seasonal allergic rhinitis and chronic idiopathic urticaria. They improve qua ...
Leukotrienes can be found in the airway and urine following both spontaneous exacerbations of asthma and acute exposure to bronchoconstrictor stimuli in the laboratory. This in turn indicates that they may have a role in the pathogenesis of acute episodes of bronchoconstriction. Although antileukotrienes are not currently advocated in the management of acute asthma, there are data to suggest that they might be of some potential benefit. Prior treatment with montelukast asthma has been shown in several studies to significantly shorten the time taken to recover (in terms of FEV 1 ) following exposure to a bronchoconstrictor stimulus. (more…)
Despite optimum drug delivery and good compliance with inhaled corticosteroids, many patients experience symptoms and exacerbat ...
Current internationally recognized guidelines indicate that symptomatic asthmatics using a low to medium inhaled corticosteroid ...
The prevalence of aspirin-sensitive asthma is uncertain although it may exist in up to 20% of all asthmatics patients. The char ...
Montelukast has proven efficacy in the treatment of chronic asthma and seasonal allergic rhinitis, but it has not been evaluate ...
The guidelines for asthma management recommend the use of regular inhaled corticosteroid in patients with mild persistent asthma, b ...