BACKGROUND Streptococcus pneumoniae is the most common causative pathogen in community-acquired pneumonia. Mast cells (MCs) are located mainly at the host-environment interface where they function as sentinels. OBJECTIVE Our goal was to study the role of MCs during pneumonia caused by S. pneumoniae. METHODS Lung tissue of patients who had died from pneumococcal pneumonia or a nonpulmonary c...

Altounyan, R. E. C. (1968). Acta Allergica, 22, 487. Altounyan, R. E. C., and Howel, J. B. L. (1969). Respiration, 26, Suppl. No. 131. Bernstein, L., et al. (1971). J7ournal of Allergy, 47, 95. Cayley, F. E. (1970). Disodium Cromoglycate in Allergic Airways Disease, p. 44. London, Butterworths. Cotes, J. E. (1966). I.L.O. Occupational Safety and Health Series, No. 6. Gianoutsos, P., and O'Donne...

A double-blind, cross-over study was undertaken to compare inhalation of betamethasone valerate (BV, 800 microgram daily) with sodium cromoglycate (SCG, 80 mg daily) in twenty children requiring bronchodilators for perennial asthma. Each treatment period lasted 4 weeks but statistical comparisons were made only in respect of the last 14 days of each therapy. When the children were using BV they...

AIM To validate the use of tear eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) as a marker for eosinophil activation, and its pharmacological modulation, in addition to evaluating the efficacy of lodoxamide and sodium cromoglycate in the treatment of vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC). METHODS Tears were collected from 30 patients affected by active mild to moderate VKC before and after therapy with disodi...

Early-phase reactions (EPRs) and late-phase reactions (LPRs) are characteristic features of bronchial asthma, although the pathogenetic mechanisms responsible for each of the responses are not fully defined. A murine model of EPRs and LPRs was developed to investigate the role of IL-5 and eosinophils in development of both responses. After initial intraperitoneal sensitization and airway challe...

In this study, we demonstrate that Dermatophagoides farinae (Der f), a major source of airborne allergens, but not OVA, could rapidly activate mast cells in mice. This was indicated by an elevation of serum mouse mast cell protease 1, a mast cell-specific proteinase, as early as 30 min after intratracheal challenge. Administration of sodium cromoglycate (40 mg/kg, i.p., 1 h before Der f instill...

The airway response to the inhalation of ultrasonically nebulised distilled water was determined in 55 asthmatic patients and 16 normal subjects. We calculated the dose of water required to induce a 20% reduction (PD20) in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) by measuring the output of the nebuliser and the volume ventilated by each subject. Forty-eight of the asthmatic patients had a ...

Among inhaled asthma therapies, the present study aimed to identify factors for selecting the type of inhalation therapy for asthma. Three methods are used to deliver inhaled cromoglycate, and the airway deposition rate was evaluated using a cascade impactor with 3 dosage forms: dry powder (DP), pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI), and solution (jet- and mesh-types). The percentage of parti...