The inhalation of distilled water can induce bronchoconstriction and a transient increase in sensitivity to methacholine in asthmatics. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of the induced bronchoconstriction in the increased sensitivity to methacholine which follows the challenge with distilled water. Eighteen asthmatic children (age 9-17 yrs) were challenged by inhalation of dis...

Allergen avoidance is regarded as an important approach to management of atopic asthma. The effect of Intervent bed covering systems on house dust mite (HDM) allergen exposure, asthma symptoms and markers of inflammation was investigated in 31 HDM sensitive asthmatic children. Dust concentrations of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus allergen 1 (Der p 1) were monitored before and after covering the...

BACKGROUND Specific bronchial reactivity to occupational agents may decline after exposure in the workplace ceases leading to falsely negative specific inhalation challenges. A study was carried out to assess prospectively whether increases in nonspecific bronchial hyperresponsiveness could be useful in detecting the bronchial response to occupational agents during specific inhalation challenge...

Asthma exacerbations are often associated with respiratory virus infections, particularly with rhinovirus. In the present study we investigated the effect of experimental rhinovirus 16 (RV16) infection on airway inflammation as assessed by analysis of hypertonic saline-induced sputum. Twenty-seven nonsmoking atopic, mildly asthmatic subjects participated in a placebo-controlled parallel study. ...

Cold air challenge (CACh) can be applied by either a single step (SSCACh) or a multiple step (MSCACh) protocol. The interrelationship of the responses of the different protocols has not yet been studied. Furthermore, there is contradictory information on the correlation of cold air challenge responses to the outcome of pharmacological provocations. A single and a multiple step cold air challeng...

BACKGROUND Bradykinin is a potent vasoactive peptide which has been proposed as an important inflammatory mediator in asthma since it provokes potent bronchoconstriction in asthmatic subjects. Little is known at present about the potential role of lung peptidases in modulating bradykinin-induced airway dysfunction in vivo in man. The change in bronchial reactivity to bradykinin was therefore in...

Abstract A strategy for desensitization of the highly sensitive explosive CL-20 with polymeric carbon nitrides is described. The hybrid energetic material (MHGP-CL-20) was synthesized via a self-assembly approach, where molecules are immobilized on hydrazone-based nitrides. good detonation performances (detonation velocity 9608 m·s −1 , pressure 42.8 GPa) show that MHGP-CL-20 retains excellent ...

A 20-year-old white female nonsmoker presented to the pulmonary function laboratory for a methacholine challenge test. The patient denied wheezing, dyspnea, cough, or chest tightness. In fact, she competes in collegiate basketball and softball without respiratory complaints. She stated that her primary care physician wanted to “screen her for asthma,” because her father is asthmatic. Her medica...

BACKGROUND Despite effective treatments, the morbidity and mortality of obstructive airways disease (asthma and COPD) remains high. Home monitoring of peak expiratory flow (PEF) is increasingly being advocated as an aid to better management of obstructive airways disease. The few available studies describing effects of treatment on the level and variation of PEF have involved relatively small n...