OBJECTIVES Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen (CTLA)-4 is a homolog of CD28, which is expressed only on activated T cells. It binds to accessory molecule B7 and mediates T-cell-dependent immune response. Signaling through CTLA-4 may down-regulate type 1 T-helper cell proliferation; moreover, some studies suggest that CTLA-4 might also deliver a positive signal to type 2 T-helper cell activation. Di...

A 42-year-old woman who underwent renal transplantation from her mother at the age of 26 due to IgA nephropathy had since been treated with immunosuppressive agents, including prednisolone (PSL), azathioprine (AZA) and cyclosporine (CsA). The patient had remained clinically stable for 15 years. However, in the middle of May 2010, she developed bronchial asthma for the first time after performin...

Bronchial Asthma is an airway disease with variable degrees of bronchial mucosal inflammation and intermittent episodes of airway obstruction and bronchial hyperesponsivness. That asthma is a syndrome consisting of different phenotypes has been recognized for a long time by clinicians [1]. New evidence indicates that the composition of airway microbiota differs in states of health and disease. ...

Using a vernacular adaptation of MAS 50 bronchial asthma patients were compared with 102 normals, 60 hospital general out-patients and 50 neurotics to determine the level of anxiety in asthma. The manifest anxiety scores of the bronchial asthma patients were found to be significantly high showing that their level of anxiety was abnormally higher in comparison with that of the normals and the ho...

A 54-year-old woman was treated for bronchial asthma for 14 yr. In March of 1989, chest roentgenography and computed tomography (CT) revealed development of bilateral pulmonary hilar lymph node enlargement. Positive 67Ga uptake was observed in bilateral pulmonary hili. Although levels of serum angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) and lysozyme were within normal range, biopsy specimen of scalene ...

This study was proposed to identify specific radiological appearances in Malaysian patients with bronchial asthma. All consecutive patients, seen in the Medical Unit, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia between 1976 and 1979, satisfying the American Thoracic Society [1962] criteria for bronchial asthma formed the subjects of this study. Analysis of 207 patients led to the following conclusion. There...

Methods: We divided 360 atopic dermatitis patients into six groups in the treatment frequency to compare a treatment effect. We investigated the existence of the diurnal secretion quantity change of adrenal cortex hormone to judge the present condition of the adrenal cortex functions of 1,699 atopic dermatitis patients and bronchial asthma patients. We investigated the spinal condition of 1,028...

Through a house-to-house survey, 1325 people aged 11+ years registered at 2 primary health care centres (1 at high altitude and 1 at sea level) in Asir region, Saudi Arabia, were interviewed and examined for weight, height and peak expiratory flow rate. The prevalence of bronchial asthma at sea level (19.5%) was significantly higher than at high altitude (6.9%). Illiteracy, low income, use of c...

BACKGROUND Exhaled breath temperature (EBT) has recently been proposed as a noninvasive marker of bronchial inflammation in patients with asthma. However, the usefulness of EBT in everyday clinical practice is not well established. Results to date are contradictory and are mainly derived from small, pediatric populations. A comparison of results is further complicated by the use of different eq...

Occupational asthma among hairdressers has been recognised for some years and cases of work related asthma due to hair bleaches containing persulphates and hair dyes have been reported. The extent of the disease among hairdressers remains unknown. An investigation was carried out on an entire hairdressing salon, which specialised in hair bleaching and colouring and which employed 23 staff. On t...