INTRODUCTION Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a prevalent disease worldwide but is still underdiagnosed in many parts of Asia. We studied the clinical profiles of AR patients in our community based on the new ARIA classification and investigated the aetiological allergens using a skin prick test. MATERIALS AND METHODS In 2008, 142 newly diagnosed patients with AR were seen and underwent skin prick t...

BACKGROUND A T helper cell (TH) 17-biased response has been observed in patients with allergic asthma, particularly in those with neutrophil accumulation in the lung. Therefore, we sought to test the hypothesis that neutrophils might be an important source of interleukin (IL)-17 in allergic asthma. METHODS Whole peripheral blood cells from non-asthmatic control subjects (n = 17) and patients ...

OBJECTIVE To verify the association of transforming growth factor-beta1(TGF-beta1) (C-509T and T869C), CD14 (C-159T), IL-4 (C-590T), IL-4R (ILe50Val) and ADAM33 (S_2) gene polymorphisms with asthma severity in a sample of patients with mild, moderate and severe persistent atopic asthma. METHODS A clinical, laboratory, prospective study was performed in patients with persistent atopic asthma, ...

This meta-analysis assessed the efficacy and safety of a novel intervention for asthma, bronchial thermoplasty (BT), in patients with moderate-to-severe persistent asthma. An electronic literature search identified three randomized controlled trials (RCT) of BT that recruited 421 patients in total. Outcomes of interest were the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) score, morning peak exp...

Asthma, which affects more than 22 million people in the U.S. every year, poses a significant clinical and economic burden to our health care system. Patients, health care practitioners, and payers require a variety of resources to ensure optimal disease management and positive clinical outcomes while also managing costs. In addition, decision makers in health care must determine the most appro...

Asthma complicates 4-8% of pregnancies. Mild and well-controlled moderate asthma can be associated with excellent maternal and perinatal pregnancy outcomes. Severe and poorly controlled asthma may be associated with increased prematurity, need for cesarean delivery, preeclampsia, growth restriction, other perinatal complications, as well as maternal morbidity and mortality. Optimal management o...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of ciclesonide (80 mg/day) and fluticasone propionate (200 mg/day) for mild to moderate persistent asthma. MATERIALS AND METHODS Female and male patients older than 12 years with a history of persistent bronchial asthma for at least 6 months were enrolled. Patients were eligible to enter into a 2-week run-in period before randomizat...

This study examined the safety of sputum induction and the relation between sputum cell counts and clinical parameters in adolescents with severe persistent asthma. Within 5 days, induced sputum and reversibility in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), quality of life, provocative concentration causing a 20% fall in FEV1 (PC20) of adenosine monophosphate and histamine, exercise-induce...

BACKGROUND Interleukin-5 (IL-5) is thought to play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of asthma. High levels of circulating IL-5 have been documented in acute asthma. However, serum IL-5 levels in mild to moderate asthmatics and the influence of regular use of inhaled glucocorticoids, is not known. METHODS Fifty-six asthmatics and 56 age and sex matched controls were recruited prospectively f...

Background Xolair ® (omalizumab) has been approved in Canada since 2004 for the treatment of moderate to severe persistent allergic asthma in patients 12 years of age. The use of omalizumab in severe persistent allergic asthma may lead to decrease health care utilization through emergency room (ER) visits, hospitalizations, visits to health care providers, as well as, decrease the use of cortic...