BACKGROUND Leukotrienes are lipid mediators generated from arachidonic acid by the 5-lipoxygenase pathway which may play an important part in the pathophysiology of asthma. Previous studies have demonstrated attenuation of the allergen-induced early and late asthmatic responses by leukotriene receptor antagonists. The effect of the 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor ZD2138, a non-redox lipoxygenase inhib...

BACKGROUND--Earlier studies of aerosol deposition in the lungs have relied on indirect labelling of Teflon spheres of a similar size distribution to the drug in question and have assumed similar aerodynamic properties. Using a modification of a new technique for directly labelling salbutamol, the deposition of salbutamol within the lungs of normal subjects and patients with asthma has been stud...

BACKGROUND Decreasing electrostatic charge on valved holding chambers increases the amount of drug delivered. However, there are no data demonstrating that this increases bronchodilatation. OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of reducing electrostatic charge on the bronchodilator response to albuterol inhaler during nocturnal bronchospasm. METHODS This randomized double-blind, double-du...

We reasoned that if flow limitation plays an important role in lung hyperinflation, then bronchodilatation should be associated with a decrease of functional residual capacity (FRC) only in subjects breathing under conditions of flow limitation. This hypothesis was tested in 33 subjects with chronic airway narrowing due to asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Flow limitation ...

This study looked at the influence of inspired air water content on exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB). On separate days, 12 mild asthmatics (4M, 8F), aged 18-39 yrs (mean: 27 yrs), performed four six minute steady-state exercises on ergometer at 80% of their maximum workload. Exercises were randomized to the following inspired air conditions: dry air (0% relative humidity (RH] during exercise...

We have developed a method for the measurement of respiratory resistance and specific airways conductance (s.Gaw) using the forced airflow oscillation method, and have used it to study the effects of halothane and enflurane on airway mechanics in anaesthetized patients. Resistance (i?ra) was determined over a range of lung volumes and s.Gaw was obtained by computer-aided analysis of the hyperbo...

Salmeterol is a new inhaled 2 adrenoceptor agonist, which has been shown in animal experiments to produce a more prolonged bronchodilator effect than currently available f2 adrenoceptor agonists. It was studied in eight adult asthmatic patients. Each patient received on separate test days salbutamol 200 pg and salmeterol 50, 100, and 200 pg according to a randomised, double blind, crossover des...

Since the original description of the "epreuve de bronchodilatation par aerosols adrenaliniques" [1], testing the reversibility of bronchial obstruction has become one of the most common measurements in the pulmonary function laboratory. It is performed for clinical assessments as well as for fundamental investigations. However there are still many questions and controversies on the technical a...

It has been known for many years that there are variations between patients in terms of their perception of breathlessness during airways obstruction. This has led to the concept of "poor perceivers" [1]. Poor perception probably has at least two components; the most widely recognized is diminished awareness of acute exacerbations of obstruction, but a second component is failure to recognize c...

The specific airway conductance (Gaw/Vtg) of 4 normal subjects and 5 subjects with respiratory diseases was measured before and after inhalation of orciprenaline. There was an almost maximum increase in Gaw/Vtg within 3 to 4 minutes in both groups of subjects after inhalation of orciprenaline. From the observed relatively rapid bronchodilatation, it would appear that the increased Gaw/Vtg is pr...