OBJECTIVE Interleukin 8 protein promotes inflammatory responses, even in airways. The presence of interleukin 8 gene variants causes altered inflammatory responses and possibly varied responses to inhaled bronchodilators. Thus, this study analyzed the interleukin 8 variants (rs4073, rs2227306, and rs2227307) and their association with the response to inhaled bronchodilators in cystic fibrosis p...

BACKGROUND As part of an investigation into the respiratory health in children conducted in Torino, northwestern Italy, our aim was to assess development in lung function from childhood to adolescence, and to assess changes or persistence of asthma symptoms on the change of lung function parameters. Furthermore, the observed lung function data were compared with the Global Lung Function Initiat...

OBJECTIVES To investigate the prevalence of airways obstruction and bronchial reactivity to inhaled methacholine in rheumatoid arthritis patients and unselected controls. The control population consisted of patients attending the rheumatology department for minor degenerative joint problems. METHODS One hundred patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [72 (72%) women, 28 (28%) men; mean (SD) a...

BACKGROUND Respiratory system disorders are one of the most prevalent complications in end-stage renal disease patients on hemodialysis. However, the pathogenesis of impaired pulmonary functions has not been completely elucidated in these patients. We designed a study to investigate acute effects of hemodialysis treatment on spirometry parameters, focusing on the relationship between pulmonary ...

OBJECTIVE To compare the results of pulmonary function tests (PFTs) and high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) of the lungs in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. METHODS Sixty eight patients (54 women, 14 men) fulfilling the revised criteria for RA were consecutively included in a transversal prospective study. Their mean age was 58.8 years (range: 35-82) and the mean duration of the dis...

BACKGROUND Many studies have reported a significant association between parents' smoking and reduced lung function in their children, but often the association has been found to be significant only in relation to maternal smoking. There have been few epidemiological studies on this topic in Britain. METHODS Spirometry, in 2756 children aged 6.50-11.99 years, was carried out in a representativ...

BACKGROUND The intake of nutrients with antioxidant properties is hypothesized to augment antioxidant defenses, decrease oxidant damage to tissues, and attenuate age-related rate of decline in lung function. The objective was to determine whether long-term intervention with selenium and/or vitamin E supplements attenuates the annual rate of decline in lung function, particularly in cigarette sm...

BACKGROUND Air pollution and obesity are hypothesized to contribute to accelerated decline in lung function with age through their inflammatory properties. OBJECTIVE We investigated whether the previously reported association between improved air quality and lung health in the population-based SAPALDIA cohort is modified by obesity. METHODS We used adjusted mixed-model analyses to estimate ...

A reversibility test by an increase of greater than 12% in FEV1 can support a diagnosis of asthma and alter a patient's treatment plan but may not be applicable to the young ages. We retrospectively gathered spirometric data from 85/271 asthmatic children having mild obstruction (FEV1 > 80% predicted), age 2.6-6.9 years. Spirometry was performed before and 20 min after inhalation of 200 mcg Alb...