BACKGROUND It has been suggested that the presence of Toxocara canis larvae in lungs is an underlying factor in the onset of asthma. Although the association of asthma and seropositivity to Toxocara has been observed, there are no studies that indicate whether these antibodies are specific against T. canis antigens. METHODS Seroprevalence to T. canis excretion-secretion antigens (TcES Ag) wer...

BACKGROUND Recent studies have suggested that eosinophils may have a direct effect on airway smooth muscle cells (ASMC), causing their proliferation in patients with asthma, but the precise mechanism of the interaction between these cells remains unknown. We propose that changes in Wnt signaling activity and extracellular matrix (ECM) production may help explain these findings. Therefore, the a...

backgroundasthma is the most chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways in children and asthmatic patients can experience cardiac dysfunction, pulmonary hypertension and finally cor pulmonale later in life. we aimed to investigate right ventricular (rv) functions in asthmatic children by conventional and tissue doppler echocardiography (tde).materials and methods pulmonary function tests, con...

BACKGROUND Many asthmatic women complain of symptom exacerbations in particular periods, i.e. during pregnancy and menstrual cycles (perimenstrual asthma: PMA)". The goal of this study was to study the effect of the luteal and follicular phases of the menstrual cycle on bronchial reactivity (BR) in a group of asthmatic women. METHODS For this purpose, 36 pre-menopausal women were enrolled and...

OBJECTIVES Few nationwide population-based studies have examined the burden of asthma during pregnancy. Here, we investigated the burden and medical treatment of asthma during pregnancy requiring healthcare utilisation in South Korea. DESIGN Cohort study. SETTING Nationwide insurance claims database. PARTICIPANTS A total of 1,306,281 pregnant women who delivered in South Korea in 2009-201...

KEY POINTS Transforming growth-factor-β (TGF-β) and RhoA/Rho-kinase are independently implicated in the airway hyper-responsiveness associated with asthma, but how these proteins interact is not fully understood. We examined the effects of pre-treatment with TGF-β on expression and activity of RhoA, Rho-kinase and ARHGEF1, an activator of RhoA, as well as on bradykinin-induced contraction, in a...

It is known that the prevalence of gastroesophage-al reflux disease (GERD) in asthmatic patients is high. Although an endoscopic diagnosis of GERD based on the established Los Angeles (LA) classification requires the detection of erosive mucosal breaks, there are patients with GERD who have prominent erythema of the esophageal membrane without erosive mucosal breaks. Non-erosive mucosal change ...

BACKGROUND Secretory phospholipases A2 (sPLA2) have functions relevant to asthmatic inflammation, including eicosanoid synthesis and effects on dendritic cells and T cells. The aim of this study was to measure sPLA2 activity in patients with stable and acute asthma and to assess potential associations with body mass index (BMI), and plasma cholesterol and vitamin C concentrations. METHODS Pla...

Asthma is a multifactorial disease in which many factors play a role in its development and exacerbations. Viral infections are known to be the main cause of asthmatic exacerbations and are often the first manifestation of asthma in preschool age. However, there is much evidence suggesting a role of viral infections even in asthma development. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). has been first a...