Chronic stable asthma is characterized by inflammation of the airway wall, with abnormal accumulation of basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, mast cells, macrophages, dendritic cells, and myofibroblasts. Airway inflammation is not limited to severe asthma, but is also found in mild and moderate asthma. This inflammation results in a peculiar type of lymphocytic infiltration whereby Th2 lymphocy...

Airway inflammation is one of the pathophysiological characteristics of asthma, which is mediated through infiltration of inflammatory cells, including mast cells, and eosinophilic and neutrophilic granulocytes in the airway wall. This cell infiltration subsequently leads to bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and, in the case of chronic inflammation, persistent changes of the airways, i.e. air...

The bronchial circulation, as opposed to the pulmonary circulation, is the likely source of the edema and inflammatory cells that contribute to airflow obstruction and airway narrowing associated with asthma and pulmonary edema. The purpose of this study was to understand the mechanism of edema formation and inflammation in airway walls. Therefore, we sought first to determine the normal bronch...

BACKGROUND In patients with bronchial obstruction, pulmonary function tests may not change significantly after intervention. The airflow asynchrony in both lungs due to unilateral bronchial obstruction may be applicable as a physiological indicator. The airflow asynchrony is reflected by the difference in the left and right lung sound development at tidal breathing. OBJECTIVES To investigate ...

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that reportedly counteracts the anti-inflammatory effect of endogenous glucocorticoids. There have only been a few reports that demonstrate a potential link between MIF and bronchial asthma. In an attempt to further clarify the precise role of MIF in asthma, the present authors examined the effect of anti-MIF antibody (...

The primary function of the bronchial epithelium is to act as a defensive barrier aiding the maintenance of normal airway function. Bronchial epithelial cells (BEC) form the interface between the external environment and the internal milieu, making it a major target of inhaled insults. However, BEC can also serve as effectors to initiate and orchestrate immune and inflammatory responses by rele...

Lung separation techniques in the morbidly obese patient undergoing thoracic or esophageal surgery may be at risk of complications during airway management. Access to the airway in the obese patient can be a challenge because they have altered airway anatomy, including a short and redundant neck, limited neck extension and accumulation of fat deposition in the pharyngeal wall contributing to di...

For one-lung ventilation in many surgical cases, double-lumen endotracheal tubes are the first-line choice for airway management. For most cases, double-lumen endotracheal tubes are faster, easier to place, cheaper, and less prone to malposition than today's bronchial blocker devices. This report describes an elective tracheostomy and the use of a double-lumen endotracheal tube directly through...

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine and reportedly counteracts the anti-inflammatory effect of endogenous glucocorticoids. There have been only a few reports that demonstrate a potential link between MIF and bronchial asthma. In an attempt to further clarify the precise role of MIF in asthma, we examined the effect of anti-MIF antibody on airway inflammat...

A period of deep inspiration in humans has been shown to attenuate subsequent bronchoconstriction, a phenomenon termed bronchoprotection. The bronchoprotective effect of deep inspiration may be caused though a depression in the force production of airway smooth muscle (ASM). We determined the response of whole airway segments and isolated ASM to a period of cyclic stretches. Isovolumetric contr...