Correspondence to: Dr. Ph. Godard, Clinique des maladies respiratoires, Avenue Major Flandre, F-34059 Montpellier (France) Bronchial asthma has been defined as a bronchial disease inducing a reversible airway obstruction. Reed [1] proposed to name it: eosinophilic desquama-tive chronic bronchitis. This term is very interesting because it outlines the importance of inflammation in the pathogenes...

It has recently been suggested that RhoA plays an important role in the enhancement of Ca2+ sensitization observed in smooth muscle contraction. In the present study, the expression of rhoA mRNA in the bronchial smooth muscle of antigen-induced airway hyperresponsive rats was compared with that of control animals. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction experiments using total RNA from ...

BACKGROUND Interleukin (IL) 13 is a key cytokine in asthma, regulating fibrosis, airway remodeling, induction of immunoglobulin E synthesis by B cells, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, and mucus production. IL-13 signals through the type II IL-4 receptor (IL-4R), which is composed of the IL-4Ralpha and the IL-13Ralpha1 chains. Another IL-13 binding chain, IL-13Ralpha2, binds IL-13 with high affin...

BACKGROUND Hemoptysis is a common complication in all kinds of surgery. However, it is rarely critical because it resolves with or without intervention. CASE PRESENTATION Here the authors present what is believed to be an unprecedented report of a case involving a fatal idiopathic bronchial hemorrhage complication during cardiac surgery. Eighty-five-year-old female with severe aorticvalve ste...

the relationship between mycoplasma pneumoniae (mp) infection and asthma has rarely been explored through examination of airway reactivity. the aim of this study was to determine airway reactivity changes after mp infection in children. first, 106 children were divided into four groups according to the existence of mp infection and/or asthma. then children with only mp belonged to the mp group;...

INTRODUCTION Although corticosteroid therapy for asthma improves lung function and reduces airway inflammation, the relation between these two events is unclear. This article investigates associations between changes in bronchial inflammation and lung function during high-dose inhaled corticosteroid therapy for asthma. METHODS Nine subjects with atopic asthma received high-dose inhaled flutic...

The factors controlling the pulmonary vascular resistance under physiological conditions are poorly understood. We have previously reported on an apparent cross talk between the airway and adjacent pulmonary arterial bed where a factor likely derived from the bronchial epithelial cells reduced the magnitude of agonist-stimulated force in the vascular smooth muscle. The main purpose of this inve...

High neutrophil counts in induced sputum have been found in nonasthmatic amateur runners at rest and after a marathon, but the pathogenesis of airway neutrophilia in athletes is still poorly understood. Bronchial epithelial damage may occur during intense exercise, as suggested by investigations conducted in endurance-trained mice and competitive human athletes studied under resting conditions....