the relationship between mycoplasma pneumoniae (mp) infection and asthma has rarely been explored through examination of airway reactivity. the aim of this study was to determine airway reactivity changes after mp infection in children. first, 106 children were divided into four groups according to the existence of mp infection and/or asthma. then children with only mp belonged to the mp group;...

Asthma is characterized by airway inflammation, airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) and variable air flow obstruction. The diagnosis of asthma, however, is often based upon nonspecific clinical symptoms of cough, wheeze, and shortness of breath. Furthermore, the physical examination and measurements of pulmonary function are often unremarkable in patients with asthma, thereby complicating the di...

Asthmatic subjects cough and bronchoconstrict to various agents known to stimulate sensory nerves. A population of sensory nerves, the C fibres, contain the neuropeptides substance P, neurokinin A (NKA), and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). Capsaicin, the principal ingredient of hot peppers, selectively stimulates C fibre afferents resulting in the release of these proinflammatory peptid...

Background Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by bronchial hyper-responsiveness [1]. As the most endemic of all childhood diseases, asthma accounts for the majority of hospitalizations and school absences in children [2]. Exciting new research focuses on the involvement of the gut microbiome in asthma development. Murine studies support the hypothesis that the administration...