Twenty subjects with mild asthma were exposed at rest in a body plethysmograph, to NO2 at 0, 260, 510 and 1,000 micrograms.m3, for 30 min on four separate days. Bronchial responsiveness (histamine inhalation test) was measured after each exposure session. Airway resistance (Raw), thoracic gas volume (TGV) and specific airway resistance (sRaw) were measured before, during and after exposure, and...

The clinical course of congestive heart failure (CHF) and mitral valve stenosis (MVS) is accompanied by episodes of dyspnea, wheezing, and cough, symptoms also observed in patients with bronchial hyperreactivity. However, it is still controversial whether bronchial hyperreactivity is demonstrable in patients with chronic overload of the pulmonary circulation. In order to examine the effects of ...

The prevalence of asthma in children is increasing worldwide. Although the features of asthma are well documented, defining asthma remains a problem. The clinical definition of asthma does not take into account the concept of airway inflammation. A broader definition that incorporates the inflammatory process, reversibility of airway obstruction, and airway responsiveness needs to be more widel...

Bronchial hyperresponsiveness is currently defined as an increase in sensitivity to a wide variety of airway narrowing stimuli. Most patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibit such an enhanced sensitivity. In asthma, in particular, this hypersensitivity is accompanied by excessive degrees of airway narrowing. This raises the question as to whether measures of ...

In vivo, the airway response to constrictor stimuli is the net result of a complex array of factors, some facilitating and some opposing airway narrowing, which makes the interpretation of bronchial challenges far from being straightforward. This review begins with a short description of the complex mechanisms of airway smooth muscle activation and force generation as the starting events for ai...

Respiratory RNA viruses responsible for the common cold often worsen airway inflammation and bronchial responsiveness, two characteristic features of human asthma. We studied the effects of dsRNA, a nucleotide synthesized during viral replication, on airway inflammation and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in murine models of asthma. Intratracheal instillation of poly I:C, a synthetic dsRNA, incre...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW One-lung ventilation in the thoracic surgical patient can be achieved with the use of a double-lumen endotracheal tube or an independent bronchial blocker. A number of patients requiring lung isolation have a potentially difficult airway because of previous radiation to the neck or previous surgery to the tongue and larynx. This review will focus on the management of patients ...

The pathophysiological characteristics of bronchial asthma consist of chronic inflammation of airways, airway hyperresponsiveness, and bronchoconstriction. Studies have shown that T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokines produced by both T cells and mast cells in the airway contribute substantially to the initiation of inflammation in both experimental and human bronchial asthma. GATA-3 is a transcripti...