BMD and airways disease

BMD and airways disease.

The papers recently published in Thorax by Tattersfield et al 1 and Walsh et al 2 offer important information about the possible adverse affects of corticosteroids on bone mineral density (BMD). Tattersfield and her colleagues reported no change in BMD with inhaled corticosteroids for mild asthma, while Walsh et al found a dose related increase in the incidence of fractures in those taking oral...

Epigenetics and airways disease

Epigenetics is the term used to describe heritable changes in gene expression that are not coded in the DNA sequence itself but by post-translational modifications in DNA and histone proteins. These modifications include histone acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination, sumoylation and phosphorylation. Epigenetic regulation is not only critical for generating diversity of cell types during mamm...

Assessing small airways disease.

A simple method of assessing smaller airways obstruction is easily available and could be used retrospectively. In contrast to the mean forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75% of forced vital capacity (FVC; FEF25–75%), which measures the mid-portion of exhalation ending at nearly the same time as the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) in these subjects, the FEV3/FVC% or (1-FEV3/FVC...

Small airways disease.

Introduction MY subject is 'Disease in the small airways'. I hope no one here today will leave with the mistaken impression that I have been describing some new kind of pulmonary disease. That is not the case. It is my intention first of all to discuss ways in which bronchi may become obstructed and then to consider possible means of investigating obstruction in small airways at a stage when th...

Airways Disease in Sarcoidosis