BACKGROUND Regular use of inhaled beta(2)-agonists has been associated with a paradoxical loss of asthma control and a deterioration of airway hyper-responsiveness, but the underlying mechanism is unknown. The neurotrophin brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has recently been identified as a mediator of airway hyper-responsiveness in asthma. METHODS Eighteen patients with mild allergic a...

inhalational insulin was withdrawn from the market due to its potential to produce airway hyper-reactivity and bronchoconstriction. so the present study was designed to explore the acute effects of insulin on airway reactivity of guinea pigs and protective effects of salbutamol and ipratropium against insulin induced airway hyper-responsiveness on isolated tracheal smooth muscle of guinea pig. ...

responsiveness as severe as that of the asthmatics. Moreover, with very few positive airway responders in a small study group it would be difficult to show a significant difference statistically, even if such a difference had existed. Additionally, without a reference population, they cannot say whether their findings were normal or abnormal. In our own study of a cohort of low birthweight chil...

In a prospective study on a cohort of 7 year old children of low birth weight (under 2000 g at birth), we observed an increased prevalence of airway responsiveness to histamine compared with a reference population of unselected, local schoolchildren. The airway responsiveness to histamine was significantly related to a history of asthma in first degree relatives (natural parents and siblings) i...

We have examined the effects of direct intratracheal instillation of purified eosinophil granule proteins on pulmonary function and airway responsiveness in primates. The results of this study show for the first time that installation of major basic protein (MBP) directly into the trachea of primates results in a significant and dose-related increase in airway responsiveness to inhaled methacho...

Although acute exposure to ozone (03*) has been shown to influence the severity and prevalence of airway hyperresponsiveness, information has been lacking on effects due to long-term exposure at relatively low exposure concentrations. The goals of this study were to determine whether long-term repeated ozone exposures could induce nonspecific hyperresponsiveness in normal, nonatopic (nonsensiti...

The precise role of inhibitory nonadrenergic noncholinergic (iNANC) neurons and nitric oxide in airway hyperresponsiveness remains uncertain. The role of NO in the regulation of airway responsiveness was studied in anaesthetized and mechanically ventilated cats. To assess airway responsiveness, the changes in total pulmonary resistance (RL) produced by delivering serotonin aerosol to the airway...

What we know: Tests that have allowed the measurement of lung function in infants have greatly enhanced our understanding of early pulmonary development and the pathophysiology of early respiratory disease. Airway responsiveness in infancy appears to be an independent determinant of symptoms and lung function later in childhood. New tests of airway responsiveness hold the promise of predicting,...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an angiogenic factor implicated in asthma severity. The objective of the present study was to determine whether VEGF single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with asthma, lung function and airway responsiveness. The present authors analysed 10 SNPs in 458 white families in the Childhood Asthma Management Program (CAMP). Tests of associat...