Nitrites in the treatment of bronchial asthma.

Spasm of the smooth muscle of the bronchi and bronchiole, edema of the mucosa leading to mucous collection, and occlusion of aveoli probably cause most of the symptoms of asthma. This resultant bronchial inflammation and obstructive emphysema may be acute, recurrent, or chronic. The degree to which these changes interfere with the passage of respiratory gases determined the severity of the condition. Frequently, one is unable to uncover the causative factors of these anatomic and physiologic changes. Many times, even when the causes are known, the difficulty of eradicating these factors has made symptomatic therapy the standby for the treatment of bronchial asthma. For many years, the sympathomimetic drugs have been the foundation upon which the majority of bronchial asthmatic remedies have been built. Epinephrine was modified to form isopropylarterenol in the search for drugs with greater ease of administration, prolongation of