Cough-variant asthma is considered by some to be an asthma phenotype. Bronchodilator responsiveness (BDR) is an undisputed feature of asthma. Of school-aged wheezers, 90% are atopic. Are school-aged coughers who demonstrate BDR also atopic? If so, then it would be reasonable to reserve the diagnosis cough-variant asthma for this particular group. Airway resistance was measured by the interrupte...

adequate intake of folate has an important role in the prevention of nutritional anemia and other complications in childbearing age women. this study was undertaken to determine dietary folate intake and concentration of folate in serum and red blood cell (rbc) in female students of a medical university in tehran, the capital of iran.  in this cross sectional study, 346 female students were ran...

An important outcome of any clinical intervention is the change in the subject's own perceived state of health. This can be categorized as health-related quality of life (HRQL), utility (preference-based health state), and daily life performance. 174 Swedish subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (mean age 64.3 PlusMinus; 12 years) completed five self-administered questionna...

Identifying noninvasive markers of pulmonary inflammation would be useful in assessing new therapies in children. Breath condensate is a simple and potentially acceptable sample medium even in small children. The technique has previously been used in adults, but not children with cystic fibrosis. The technique was assessed in 36 children with cystic fibrosis (mean age 10.4 yrs) and 17 control s...

INTRODUCTION The prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity is increasing, with negative medical and psychosocial consequences. AIMS This study examines the association between weight status and nutrient intake, sport and leisure habits of middle school students in Bologna (Italy). METHODS Anthropometric data (height, weight) of 598 subjects (321 males and 277 females) 11-14 years old w...

To study the physiopathology and significance of asymptomatic airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), the clinical and bronchial immunohistological parameters were evaluated in subjects with asymptomatic and symptomatic AHR. Asymptomatic subjects with AHR (eight females/two males, no respiratory symptoms, provocative concentration of methacholine causing a 20% fall in forced expiratory volume in one ...

Age-related changes in mastication-induced brain neuronal activity have been suggested. However, in humans, little is known about the anatomical regions involved. Using fMRI during cycles of rhythmic gum-chewing and no chewing, we have examined the effect of aging on brain regional activity during chewing in young adult (19-26 yrs), middle-aged (42-55 yrs), and aged (65-73 yrs) healthy humans. ...

INTRODUCTION RA is a chronic inflammatory state, predisposing for atherosclerosis as it is an immunoinflammatory process. This study focuses on use of Carotid artery intimomedial thickness (CIMT) as a marker for subclinical atherosclerosis. OBJECTIVE To study the assessment of atherosclerosis by Carotid Intimo-Medial Thickness (CIMT) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and Correlation of ul...

Introduction: Central pain is a widespread symptom of ill Gulf War veterans [1,2]. A previous study [3] reported a two-fold increase in cooling detection threshold during Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) of right foot in GW Illness veterans. Higher cooling thresholds (in all extremities) and higher warming thresholds (in hands) in veterans suffering from Gulf War Illness were also found in an...