In the early 1930s Carl Pantin spent several months at the Stazione Zoologica in Naples studying neuromuscular transmission in crustacea. These investigations reached a convenient stopping point several weeks before Pantin was to return to England, and he cast about for something else to do in the meantime. The previous occupant of the laboratory in which he was working had left some sea anemon...

Stepping down for well-controlled asthma is crucial to achieve the lowest effective inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) dose. However, recommendations stepping are still ambiguous, particularly regarding step-down strategy in patients with treated once-daily low-dose ICS/long-acting beta2-agonist (LABA) combination. The 2021 Global Initiative Asthma (GINA) guideline recommended ‘as-needed’ ICS-formote...

Icariside II (ICS II) is a broad-spectrum anti-cancer natural compound extracted from Herba Epimedii Maxim. Recently, the role of ICS II has been investigated in central nervous system, especially have a neuroprotective effect in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we attempted to investigate the effects of ICS II, on cognitive deficits and beta-amyloid (Aβ) production in APPswe/PS1dE9 (AP...

OBJECTIVES The impact of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on eosinophilic inflammation in asthma is well established, but their effect in a real-life setting has not been extensively studied. Our purpose was to investigate the effect of ICS on airway and systemic inflammation as well as on clinical outcomes in patients with asthma from clinical practice. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS We condu...

OBJECTIVE To compare asthma-related health-care utilization and expenditures for patients prescribed one of three dual-controller therapies: fluticasone plus salmeterol, inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) [excluding fluticasone] plus salmeterol, and ICS plus a leukotriene modifier (LTM). MATERIALS AND METHODS Asthma-related medical claims from two major health plans were obtained for the 12 months...

The polymeric immunoglobulin receptor (pIgR) on mucosal epithelial cells binds dimeric IgA (dIgA) on the basolateral surface and mediates transport of dIgA to the apical surface. Using Madin-Darby canine kidney epithelial cells stably transfected with pIgR cDNA, we found that soluble immune complexes (ICs) of 125I-labeled rat monoclonal antidinitrophenyl (DNP) dIgA (125I-dIgA) and DNP/biotin-bo...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Indications for the use of long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs) and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in patients with COPD are described in the various international guidelines, but no special recommendations are made concerning the use of combination inhalers containing a LABA as well as an ICS. To ...

OBJECTIVES We aimed to assess the association between long-term use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and bone adverse effects in patients with asthma. DESIGN Systematic review and meta-analysis of fracture risk and changes in bone mineral density with long-term ICS use in asthma. METHODS We initially searched MEDLINE and EMBASE in July 2013, and performed an updated PubMed search in Decembe...

Here, we investigated the quantitative and qualitative differences in antibody classes and subclasses in serum immune complexes (ICs) of Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL), Post Kala-azar Dermal Leishmaniasis (PKDL) and different cross reactive diseases like Malaria, Leprosy, Vitiligo as compared to control subjects. IC levels were measured through a newly developed PEG ELISA, using L. donovani promas...

BACKGROUND Inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) therapy improves asthma outcome. Both the anti-inflammatory efficacy and toxicities of ICS therapy are dose dependent. Therefore, there is interest in monitoring airway inflammation during ICS dose adjustments. OBJECTIVE Fraction of expired nitric oxide (FENO) and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) pH were studied as noninvasive, corticosteroid-responsive ...