The efficacy and side effects of oxitropium bromide, a new anticholinergic bronchodilator drug, were tested in a double-blind placebo-control study. Twenty-four men, aged 58 to 72 years, with chronic partially reversible obstruction of the airways were used as subjects. Three doses of oxitropium were tested (100 micrograms, 200 micrograms, and 300 micrograms) to determine the optimum dose by me...

BACKGROUND Tachyphylaxis to the protection afforded by salmeterol to broncho-constrictor stimuli after regular use has been described in patients with mild asthma not receiving inhaled corticosteroids. The present study was performed to investigate whether airway tachyphylaxis occurs in symptomatic asthmatic subjects receiving inhaled corticosteroids, the group for whom salmeterol is recommende...

BACKGROUND Potassium (K+) channel activators, such as cromakalim, open ATP sensitive K+ channels and relax airway smooth muscle in vitro and inhibit induced bronchoconstriction in vivo in animals. The prolonged half life of cromakalim gives it potential as an oral bronchodilator. The effect of orally administered BRL 38227 (the active enantiomer of cromakalim), at doses of 0.125, 0.25, and 0.5 ...

BACKGROUND Elevated fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) associates positively with symptomatic atopy among asthmatics and in the general population. It is, however, unclear whether sensitization to common allergens per se- as verified with positive skin prick tests--affects FENO in healthy individuals. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine the association between FENO and sensitiz...

In the last decades new pharmacodynamic properties of beta-adrenoceptors have been discovered that could greatly impact in the use of beta-adrenergic agents in the clinical practice. Concepts such as multiple binding sites, constitutive activity, polymorphism and intracellular signaling of betaadrenoceptors may contribute in the discovery of more efficacious pharmacological agents for treatment...

We hypothesized that dyspnea and its descriptors, that is, chest tightness, inspiratory effort, unrewarded inspiration, and expiratory difficulty in asthma reflect different mechanisms of airflow obstruction and their perception varies with the severity of bronchoconstriction. Eighty-three asthmatics were studied before and after inhalation of methacholine doses decreasing the 1-sec forced expi...

The time taken to achieve peak tidal expiratory flow as a proportion of total expiratory time (t PTEF/t E) during tidal breathing (TB) is used as a parameter of airway obstruction in children with asthma. Curve selection bias is one of the most important limitations to the method. This study evaluates three curve selection methods, including a computer program, which on-line selects and analyse...

Single-breath transfer factor obtained using a multibreath estimate of alveolar volume (TI) was measured before and after salbutamol in twenty patients with reversible airflow limitation. The effective breathholding time was calculated by four methods due respectively to Ogilvie and colleagues as modified by the American Thoracic Society (ATS), ATS Epidemiological Standardization Project (ESP),...

BACKGROUND Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood with recognition and detection still unsatisfactory. Questionnaires focusing on reported symptoms are a very promising and useful tool. OBJECTIVE To determine the diagnostic accuracy of a basic questionnaire (BQ) as a screening test for asthma in children and adolescents who sought medical assistance in a pediatric hospital in ...

an evening dosage, which resulted in larger bronchodilatation at 7 am. D'Alonzo et al, however, do not further discuss the role of p-agonists such as bambuterol in the pharmacotherapy of noctur¬ nal asthma. Several research groups have shown that the presence of nocturnal symptoms is related to the degree of airway responsive¬ ness.1,2 Airway inflammatory processes are known to influence air¬ w...