OBJECTIVE To investigate the significance of circulating adhesion molecules associated with leucocyte-endothelial cell interactions in asthma, serum levels of soluble E (sE)-selectin, soluble P (sP)-selectin, soluble L (sL)-selectin, and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) were measured in mild, moderate and severe asthma. METHOD Serum levels of sE-selectin, sP-selectin, sL-se...

Activated eosinophils play an important role in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma. In this study, we analyzed the inflammatory leukocyte population and the concentrations of eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and albumin in induced sputum from patients with mild to severe asthma (n=36), and assessed the findings in relation to the severity of their asthma. Both the eosinophil numbers and the ...

BACKGROUND The Inhaled Steroid Treatment as Regular Therapy in Early Asthma (START) study is a worldwide, randomized, prospective study to investigate early intervention with inhaled corticosteroids in recent-onset mild persistent asthma. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the safety and tolerability of long-term treatment with once-daily budesonide therapy in patients with mild persistent asthma. METHO...

McLean DE, Bowen S, Drezner K, et al. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158:244–249 Purpose of the Study. To determine the prevalence of asthma among a population of homeless children. Study Population. A total of 740 children whose families entered 3 family shelters in New York City, New York, from June 1998 to September 1999, representing 75% of all children entering these shelters. Methods. On ...

The occasional use of over-the-counter (OTC) epinephrine inhalers appears to be safe and effective when used according to labeled instruction by individuals with mild, intermittent asthma. However, gross misuse of these products can cause severe adverse reactions, including death. Limited survey data suggest that approximately 20% of individuals using OTC epinephrine inhalers have mild-to-moder...

McLean DE, Bowen S, Drezner K, et al. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158:244–249 Purpose of the Study. To determine the prevalence of asthma among a population of homeless children. Study Population. A total of 740 children whose families entered 3 family shelters in New York City, New York, from June 1998 to September 1999, representing 75% of all children entering these shelters. Methods. On ...

Air pollution has been shown to increase frequency of asthma attacks, as usually measured by hospitalisation rates. We hypothesise that purchase of asthma reliever medications will reflect a broader association between the environmental exposure and asthma exacerbations. In a time series analysis, we estimated the association of dust storms with mild asthma manifestations, as indicated by medic...

BACKGROUND Asthma is the chronic inflammation of airways characterized by eosinophilic infiltration, mucus overproduction, airway hyper-responsiveness and airway remodeling. These changes are induced mostly by cytokines which are produced by T helper (Th) 2 cells. Recently, the role of interleukin-23 (IL-23) in the pathogenesis of adult allergic asthma has been studied. OBJECTIVE To explore I...

BACKGROUND The use of administrative databases to perform epidemiological studies in asthma has increased in recent years. The absence of clinical parameters to measure the level of asthma severity and control is a major limitation of database studies. A study was undertaken to develop and validate two database indexes to measure the control and severity of asthma. METHODS Database indexes of...

OBJECTIVE To assess whether the severity of asthma is associated with sensitisation to airborne moulds rather than to other seasonal or perennial allergens. DESIGN Multicentre epidemiological survey in 30 centres. SETTING European Community respiratory health survey. PARTICIPANTS 1132 adults aged 20-44 years with current asthma and with skin prick test results. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Sev...