BACKGROUND The pharmacological stress agents adenosine and dipyridamole are contraindicated in asthma patients because of the risk of adenosine receptor-mediated bronchospasm. Binodenoson, a selective adenosine A(2A) receptor agonist, produces maximal coronary hyperemia during pharmacological stress testing yet has a low affinity for the adenosine A(1), A(2B), and A(3) receptors that are probab...

Mild persistent asthma should be treated with continuous inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), which reduces exacerbations of disease, controls symptoms and reduces bronchial mucosal inflammation. Most patients can be controlled with low dosage ICS (<or= 500 mcg/day beclometasone or equivalent) and there is limited benefit from further escalating dosages. There is some evidence of additional benefit o...

he understanding of childhood asthma has increased substantially since the publication of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ) position statement The role of corticosteroids in the management of childhood asthma in 2002.1 In particular, recognition of the need for separate asthma management guidelines for children aged 5 years or younger has increased,' and considerably mor...

Immunity is responsible for the defense mechanism of the body but in case of autoimmune diseases, its role gets diverted. Like so many other diseases, asthma is also considered as one of the most common autoimmune diseases to be occurring in community. Asthma is defined as a chronic inflammatory airway disease that is characterized by airway hyper reactivity and mucus hypersecretion that result...

Asthma is a disease characterized by intermittent bronchoconstriction due to increased airway reactivity to both allergic and nonallergic stimuli. Most asthma exacerbations that result in hospitalization are associated with viral upper respiratory tract infections. Such infections typically induce T-helper type 1 (T(H)1) responses in the airway, involving activation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the study was to determine whether asthma management in Thailand is succeeding in achieving the levels of control, specified in national and international asthma guidelines. METHODOLOGY Adults with asthma in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Songkhla, and Khon Kaen were interviewed, and we have reported on their asthma severity, morbidity, control, perception of asthma, and healthcare...

INTRODUCTION Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a prevalent disease worldwide but is still underdiagnosed in many parts of Asia. We studied the clinical profiles of AR patients in our community based on the new ARIA classification and investigated the aetiological allergens using a skin prick test. MATERIALS AND METHODS In 2008, 142 newly diagnosed patients with AR were seen and underwent skin prick t...

I n 1997, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute published the seminal and comprehensive treatise “Expert Panel Report II: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma.”1 The fundamental principle guiding recommendations for asthma management in this handbook was a stepwise approach to pharmacotherapy based on a simple, clinically relevant, standardized method for classifying as...