Th17 cells that produce IL-17 have been found to participate in the development of allergy-triggered asthma. However, whether they play a causative role in the pathogenesis of airway remodeling in chronic asthma remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of Th17 cells in airway remodeling and the possible involvement of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor signals downstream of ...

BACKGROUND As the multipotent progenitor population of the airway epithelium, human airway basal cells (BC) replenish the specialized differentiated cell populations of the mucociliated airway epithelium during physiological turnover and repair. Cultured primary BC divide a limited number of times before entering a state of replicative senescence, preventing the establishment of long-term repli...

Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is a defining characteristic of asthma that refers to the capacity of the airways to undergo exaggerated narrowing in response to stimuli that do not result in comparable degrees of airway narrowing in healthy subjects. Airway smooth muscle (ASM) contraction mediates airway narrowing, but it remains uncertain as to whether the smooth muscle is intrinsically alte...

OBJECTIVE Describe airway management using nasopharyngeal airway in infants. DESIGN Retrospective case series (1996 to 2006). SETTING Tertiary pediatric hospital. PATIENTS, PARTICIPANTS The craniofacial database of Seattle Children's Hospital was searched to identify patients with one of the following diagnoses: micrognathia, secondary cleft palate, branchial arch anomalies, Pierre Robin ...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS To describe and to assess reproducibility of a method to model the lumen of the pharyngeal airway using anatomic structures. STUDY DESIGN Single-center, institutional review board-approved retrospective case series. METHODS Multiple structural landmarks (hard palate, palatal aponeurosis, genu, velum, and lateral wall; pharyngeal and vallecular tongue base; and epiglott...

AbstractBackgroundand endotracheal intubation under direct vision in both anticipated and unexpecteddifficult intubation situations.: The LMA CTrach system is a new device for airway managementMethodsdifferent types of elective surgeries. After randomly selecting the patients for intubationwith this new device, the airway characteristics, height, weight, dental overbiteand thyromental distance ...

BACKGROUND There is increasing appreciation of gender differences in COPD but scant data whether risk factors for low lung function differ in men and women. We analysed data from 3 years follow-up in 178 women and 464 men with COPD, participants in the Euroscop Study who were smokers unexposed to inhaled corticosteroids. METHODS Explanatory variables of gender, age, starting age and pack-year...

Increased wheeze and asthma diagnosis in obesity may be due to reduced lung volume with subsequent airway narrowing. Asthma (wheeze and airway hyperresponsiveness), functional residual capacity (FRC) and airway conductance (Gaw) were measured in 276 randomly selected subjects aged 28-30 yrs. Data were initially adjusted for smoking and asthma before examining relationships between weight and FR...

Numerous studies have demonstrated upper-airway neuromuscular abnormalities during wakefulness in snorers and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. However, the functional role of sensorimotor impairment in OSA pathogenesis/disease progression and its potential effects on protective upper-airway reflexes, measures of respiratory sensory processing, and force characteristics remain unclear. Th...

T he Wright peak expiratory flow meter was introduced in 1959 and provided a portable piece of equipment for assessing some aspects of lung function in the ambulatory care setting. The original device has been supplanted by the mini Wright peak flow meter (and a range of other devices) which have become relatively cheap but are reasonably reliable for home monitoring. So, with an available devi...