Long-term treatment with inhaled beta 2-agonists may be associated with a deterioration in asthma control, potentially due to tolerance. Regular use of short-acting beta 2-agonists has been shown to induce tolerance to allergen or adenosine 5'-monophosphate challenge. The aim of the study was to detect the efficacy of a single dose and a short-term treatment with salmeterol, a long-acting beta ...

AIMS To investigate the relation between wood dust exposure and different indices of asthma among woodworkers and non-exposed subjects. METHODS A total of 302 woodworkers and 71 non-exposed subjects answered a respiratory health questionnaire, underwent a non-specific bronchial provocation test using the Yan method, and received a skin prick test with 12 common inhalant allergens. Subgroups p...

We report a forced oscillatory technique for noninvasively measuring respiratory transfer impedance (Ztr) between 8 and 384 Hz in guinea pigs. This technique uses a device consisting of two chambers: one surrounding the animal's head that is used as a plethysmograph to measured flow through the airway opening and the other that surrounds the animal's body and is used to apply pressure oscillati...

BACKGROUND Previous data from the literature reported blunted perception of airway obstruction in severe asthmatics with near fatal asthma. Approximately 25% of patients with asthma are current smokers. AIM To determine whether there is an alteration in perception of airway obstruction during a non specific provocative challenge with methacholine in mild controlled asthmatics who smoke. MET...

Leukotriene D4 (LTD4) may be an important mediator in asthma. The effect of verapamil and sodium cromoglycate on LTD4 induced bronchoconstriction has been examined in seven patients with asthma. The bronchoconstrictor response to increasing concentrations of inhaled LTD4 (0.0032-50 micrograms/ml) was assessed by measuring changes in FEV1, specific airways conductance, and flow rate at 30% of vi...

The effect of deep inspiration (DI) on airway responsiveness differs in asthmatic and normal human subjects. The mechanism for the effects of DI on airway responsiveness in vivo has not been identified. To elucidate potential mechanisms, we compared the effects of DI imposed before or during induced bronchoconstriction on the airway response to methacholine (MCh) in rabbits. The changes in airw...

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between specific bronchial reactivity and respective nonspecific bronchial and immunological reactivities. Twenty-one patients underwent bronchial challenges with lactose and flour. The aerosol of particles was generated by a computer-controlled aerosolizer. Specific bronchial challenge results were expressed as the provocative dose of f...

BACKGROUND The clinical efficacy of allergen immunotherapy using therapeutic vaccines containing modified allergen extracts has been previously shown. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the clinical efficacy of a vaccine containing depigmented, polymerized extract of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus in asthmatic children, monosensitized to mites, after 4 months of treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total o...

Probe-based confocal laser endomicroscopy (pCLE) is a new technique that can microscopically image the airways in vivo during ordinary flexible bronchoscope procedures. pCLE can visualize the basement membrane of the bronchial epithelium, allowing the study of the different changes in benign or malignant/premalignant bronchial lesions. We present 2 cases of pathology-proven endobronchial hamart...

Endobronchial aspergilloma is a rare disease entity with pulmonary involvement of aspergillus. Few cases of endobronchial aspergilloma associated with malignant lesions have been reported in the literature. We present 2 more cases of endobronchial aspergilloma with underlying lung cancer. And summarize the published literatures to investigate the clinical manifestations, bronchoscopic character...