OBJECTIVES To investigate the association between obesity and airway inflammation and spirometric parameters in local children. DESIGN Cross-sectional and observational study. SETTING Paediatric clinics of a university-affiliated teaching hospital in Hong Kong. PATIENTS Chinese subjects aged 6 to 18 years were recruited from the paediatric clinics. Obesity was defined as being 120% or mor...

Nitric oxide (NO) is a gas molecule produced endogenously in the lungs. It can be detected in the exhaled air of animals and humans. Nitric oxide can be generated in the air passages by a synthase which is induced in several cell types by exposure to proinflammatory cytokines. Its induction is blocked by glucocorticoids. An increased concentration of nitric oxide can be found in the exhaled air...

Increased concentrations of exhaled nitric oxide (NO) occur in patients with asthma, and exhaled NO may be useful for assessing the effect of drug therapy on airway inflammation. Beta2-agonists have been proposed to have both proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects. We therefore assessed exhaled NO after beta2-agonists in asthmatic patients. Two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlle...

BACKGROUND Given the importance of airway inflammation in asthma, there has been an effort to incorporate inflammatory markers into its management. Measurement of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a noninvasive marker of airway inflammation; however, the use of the available FeNO analyzer is limited by several factors including its cost and lack of transportability. The aim of this stud...

Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) is a recently introduced non invasive marker to measure inflammation and oxidative stress in the lung. The numerous roles of NO in respiratory pathophysiology have been extensively reviewed. There is contradictory evidence regarding the exact function of NO in lung diseases. In pathological states, the enzyme inducible NO synthase generates extraordinarily...

BACKGROUND Occupational and environmental exposure to petroleum refinery products poses a great threat to human health. This study aimed to assess the lung function and Fractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) among petroleum refinery workers. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, 112 participants (56 petroleum refinery workers with mean age 35.20 ± 1.62 years, and 56 age, weight, height, ethn...

BACKGROUND Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is associated with cardiovascular diseases, in particular systemic arterial hypertension. We postulated that intermittent nocturnal hypoxia in OSAS may be associated to decreased fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) levels from distal airspaces. METHODS Multiple flow rate measurements have been used to fractionate nitric oxide (NO) from alv...