Quantitative analysis of computed tomographic (CT) images of the lungs is becoming increasingly useful in the medical and surgical management of subjects with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Current methods for the assessment of airway wall work well in idealized models of the airway. We propose a new method for airway wall detection based on phase congruency. This method does not...

We have examined the effects of a PAF receptor antagonist, WEB 2170, on several indices of acute and chronic airway inflammation and associated changes in lung function in a primate model of allergic asthma. A single oral administration WEB 2170 provided dose related inhibition of the release of leukotriene C(4) (LTC(4)) and prostaglandin D(2) (PGD(2)) recovered and quantified in bronchoalveola...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Asthma is characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness, inflammation, and remodeling. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors have been reported to regulate inflammatory responses in many cells. In this study, we examined the effects of intranasal rosiglitazone on airway remodeling in a chronic asthma model. METHODS We developed a mouse model of airway remodeling, including...

Chest x-rays (CXR) still play an important role in detection of airway disease. Airway stenosis is a key sign of disease such as paediatric tuberculosis but is challenging to measure in CXR because the airway has relatively low contrast compared to overlying structures. In this study a novel approach to identify airways in CXRs is introduced, using a 3D statistical shape model to guide the segm...

In snorers, the physiologic decrease of postural muscle tone during sleep results in increased collapsibility of the upper airway. Measurement of nasal pressure changes with prongs is increasingly used to monitor flow kinetics through a collapsing upper airway. This report presents a mathematical model to predict nasal flow profile from three critical components that control upper airway patenc...

Maximal expiratory flow in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could be reduced by three different mechanisms; loss of lung elastic recoil, decreased airway conductance upstream of flow-limiting segments; and increased collapsibility of airways. We hypothesized that decreased upstream conductance would be related to inflammation and thickening of the airway walls, increased collapsibil...

To investigate the role of histamine in airway remodeling, 50 healthy guinea pigs were divided into 5 groups: control group: nebulized inhalation of distilled water for 8 weeks; asthma model group: nebulized inhalation of ovalbumin (OVA) for 8 weeks after sensitization; continued asthma model group: nebulized inhalation of OVA for 14 weeks after sensitization; histamine group: nebulized inhalat...

BACKGROUND Organic acid anhydride-induced occupational asthma is considered to be IgE-mediated. Airway and skin exposure are the two main routes of sensitization in the work place. Recently we developed an allergic asthmatic Brown Norway rat model sensitized by dermal exposure to trimellitic anhydride (TMA) using an occlusion patch application. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this study were (1)...

Endogenously produced nitric oxide is a recognized regulator of physiological lung events, such as a neurotransmitter and a proinflammatory mediator. We tested the differences between chronic and acute nitric oxide inhibition by N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) treatment in lung mechanics, inflammation, and airway remodeling in an experimental asthma model in guinea pigs. Both ac...