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 ...
The induction of immune tolerance and specific immune suppression are essential processes in the control of immune responses. Regulatory T cells (Treg) play a central role in immune control in the periphery. Two broad categories of Treg have been described: naturally occurring Treg that are present in all individuals and antigen-induced Treg that secrete inhibitory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-10 and/or transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß. (more…)
Regulatory T cells Treg (picture above) is the existence of suppressor cells, which limit ongoing immune responses and prevent ...
An emerging concept is that pro-inflammatory signals lead to loss of Regulatory T Cells (Treg) function. Pasare and Medzhitov ( ...
Treg cells or regulatory T cells constitute a large population of cellular infiltrate in atopic/allergic inflammation and a dys ...
The intracellular forkhead winged transcription factor Foxp3 (forkhead box P3) appears to be specifically expressed by naturall ...
Allergen-specific immunotherapy is highly effective in the treatment of IgE-mediated allergy diseases such as rhinitis, conjunc ...
Once it is tethered onto the venule wall, the neutrophil or other leukocyte comes into contact with a wide variety of inflammatory mediators that may either be expressed by the activated endothelium or simply diffuse into the blood from the injured tissue. Among these mediators are a diverse subset of intermediaries known as leukocyte chemotactic factors which bind to receptors on the leukocyte surface and trigger the second, activation phase of margination. (more…)
Neutrophils make up an army of more-or-less identical circulating phagocytes that are poised to respond quickly and in vast numbers ...
Nearly all tissues, organs, and serosal cavities harbor a population of resident phagocytes. Most contain only a diffuse scattering ...
Acute inflammatory response constitute the first line of defense against infection pathogenesis and how immune system works as ...
Some of the immediate sequelae of injury are uncomfortably familiar: Soon after an injury occurs, the affected site and its sur ...
Although it is commonly imagined that hematopoiesis takes place in a liquid environment resembling the blood, with progenitors resp ...
Our understanding of hematopoiesis has advanced greatly in recent years with the isolation and characterization of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and the identification of many of the factors that influence the production and differentiation of lineage-committed progenitors (Figure 1 bellow). HSCs are defined by their abilities to self-renew throughout life and to give rise to committed progenitors that can differentiate along all of the possible hematopoietic lineages. They were first purified from mice as a tiny sub-population of marrow cells that could completely reconstitute the hematopoietic systems of other mice, whose own marrows had been destroyed by inherited mutations or by radiation. (more…)
The process by which blood cells grow, divide, and differentiate in the bone marrow is called hematopoiesis. Three general cl ...
Hematopoietic progenitors depend on a variety of cytokines to control their growth and differentiation. These include several d ...
Although it is commonly imagined that hematopoiesis takes place in a liquid environment resembling the blood, with progenitors resp ...
The Ras-dependent pathway can be triggered by a variety of cytokine receptors, as well as by certain adhesion molecules and by ...
Neutrophils make up an army of more-or-less identical circulating phagocytes that are poised to respond quickly and in vast numbers ...
Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic that possesses the ability to potently shorten eosinophil survival. This study assessed the safety and efficacy of nebulized lidocaine in a randomized, placebo-controlled study in patients with mild to moderate asthma.
Fifty subjects were recruited (18 male and 32 female) to receive lidocaine (25) or placebo (25). All the subjects had a pre-bronchodilator FEV 1 of 60–125% of the predicted normal value and were treated daily with inhaled glucocorticoids (but not systemic glucocorticoids) and bronchodilators for at least 2 months. (more…)
Tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a) is a major therapeutic target in a range of chronic inflammatory disorders involving neutr ...
Anticholinergic agents, including nebulized glycopyrrolate, a potent but non-selective muscarinic receptor blocker, have been f ...
Maintenance of asthma control by once-daily inhaled ciclesonide nasal spray in adults with persistent asthma. Ciclesonide is an ...
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 ...
Interleukin-5 is the key cytokine in eosinophil differentiation and growth in the bone marrow and stimulates the release of eosinophils into the peripheral circulation. Thus, it is thought that IL-5 may be involved in the pathogenesis of hypereosinophilic syndromes (HES), a diverse group of poorly treated disorders characterized by sustained peripheral blood and/or tissue eosinophilia. Mepolizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody to IL-5, and its safety and efficacy were assessed in this open-labelled trial. (more…)
Eosinophil infiltration of the mucosa is a feature of asthmatic airways. Their adhesion to bronchial epithelial cells has been ...
IgE plays an important role in allergic asthma. Reducing IgE in the airway mucosa should reduce airway inflammation. Omalizumab has ...
Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic that possesses the ability to potently shorten eosinophil survival. This study assessed the sa ...
Normally present at very low levels in plasma, antibodies of the immunoglobulin E (IgE) isotype were first discovered in 1967, ...
Tumour Necrosis Factor is a pro-inflammatory cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of asthmatic airway inflammation, hyper-react ...
The geographical variation in the prevalence of asthma in children does not coincide with variations in air pollution levels. The increase in the prevalence of asthma and allergies seen over the last decades was paralleled by a decrease in emissions of SO2 and particles from coal combustion, and an increase of emissions from motor vehicle traffic. There is a growing number of studies suggesting that increased exposure to traffic exhausts, particularly diesel exhausts, may be a risk factor for the new onset of asthma. (more…)
Asthma is a complex syndrome rather than a single disease entity. Different phenotypes with varying prognosis and determinants have ...
During recent decades there has been extensive epidemiological research to explore the increasing prevalence of asthma and alle ...
Sulfur Dioxide The effects of SO2 have been extensively reviewed. Total emergency room visits for respiratory problems and ...
The effects of exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on children have been extensively studied and numerous surveys hav ...
Atopic Dermatitis is considered to be one of the first manifestations in the atopic march. The aim of this study was to investi ...
Natural history studies with the following design features provide a firm epidemiologic foundation for risk factor assessments and etiologic hypotheses:
(1) long-term cohort studies of a prospective design minimize biases resulting from poor parental recall;
(2) multiple evaluations over time provide important checkpoints during the dynamic period of childhood growth and development; and
(3) the inclusion of objective disease measurements strengthens these studies by validating subjective disease assessments (i.e. questionnaire data). (more…)
Atopic Dermatitis is considered to be one of the first manifestations in the atopic march. The aim of this study was to investi ...
In the Tucson CRS study, about 50% of young children experienced a period of recurrent wheezing and/or coughing in the first 6 ...
There is much controversy as to the role of allergen exposure for the development of atopic sensitization towards this allergen. Wh ...
Sensitization to pets remains a risk factor for asthma and rhinitis, and can occur in people who have never lived with a pet. S ...
Avoidance of any one of the individual risk factors associated with childhood asthma has not been successful in preventing its deve ...
According to the National Survey of Children in the United States, the prevalence of asthma was 15% (last 12 months), that of hay fever was 12.4%, of skin allergy 9.8% and digestive/ food allergy 3.6%. Overall, every fourth child is affected (25.4%). Regarding the diagnosis of asthma in children, the prevalence, for instance in Germany, rose from 1.25% to 2.21% between 1951–1952 and 1964–1965. For the last 10 years there has been dispute about whether the increase in asthma and allergy has come to a halt. However, the observation period is too short to draw any conclusion. A study of adults went beyond this simple dispute and investigated age and cohort effects for immunoglobulin E (IgE) sensitization from 1992 to 1998–2002. (more…)
Epidemiological studies of farm children are of international interest because farm children are less often atopic disorders, h ...
During recent decades there has been extensive epidemiological research to explore the increasing prevalence of asthma and alle ...
The prevalence of atopic dermatitis is increasing in Western societies. The hygiene hypothesis proposes that this is due to red ...
A general pattern of factors influencing development of asthma seems to be emerging, including family allergy history/ asthma g ...
Atopic Dermatitis is considered to be one of the first manifestations in the atopic march. The aim of this study was to investi ...
Atopic Dermatitis is considered to be one of the first manifestations in the atopic march. The aim of this study was to investigate prospectively the natural course of Atopic Dermatitis to determine factors influencing its prognosis and to analyse the relationship of Atopic Dermatitis with childhood asthma. The Multicenter Allergy Study, a German birth cohort, followed 1314 children from birth to age 7 years. Physical examinations, parental interviews on atopic symptoms and diagnoses, and determination of specific immunoglobulin (Ig)E levels were performed regularly. (more…)
Atopic Dermatitis is a chronic relapsing skin disease. Several investigations concerning the long-term prognosis of Atopic Derm ...
The prevalence of atopic dermatitis is increasing in Western societies. The hygiene hypothesis proposes that this is due to red ...
Asthma is a complex syndrome rather than a single disease entity. Different phenotypes with varying prognosis and determinants have ...
Breast milk contains a variety of bioactive substances, among them soluble CD14 (sCD14), which plays an important role in innat ...
Atopic dermatitis is a chronic inflammatory condition of the skin which usually starts in infancy. It is sometimes called ‘atop ...