Comparative features of Asthma with frequent or infrequent exacerbations: A longitudinal study of retrospective and prospective events.

Background: A "frequent exacerbator phenotype" has been described, mostly in the population of patients with severe asthma. Further data are needed on such exacerbation-prone patients in milder asthma.

Aim: To compare the characteristics of frequent and nonfrequent exacerbators in asthma of different severities and to assess the stability of the exacerbator status.

Comparative Clinical, Physiological, and Inflammatory Characteristics of Elderly Subjects With or Without Asthma and Young Subjects With Asthma.

Background: Asthma seems to present in the elderly as a specific phenotype that remains to be further described. In this prospective observational study, we aimed to assess the multidimensional aspects of asthma in the elderly.

Methods: In young (18 to 35 years old) subjects with mild to moderate asthma and elderly subjects (aged ≥60 years) either with or without mild to moderate asthma, we compared asthma control, health care and medication use, lung function, markers of airway and systemic inflammation, and adherence to therapy.

A nonsteroidal glucocorticoid receptor agonist inhibits allergen-induced late asthmatic responses.

Rationale: Effective antiinflammatory therapies are needed for the treatment of asthma, but preferably without the systemic adverse effects of glucocorticosteroids.

Objectives: We evaluated the effect of an inhaled nonsteroidal glucocorticoid receptor agonist, AZD5423, on allergen-induced responses.

Methods: Twenty subjects with mild allergic asthma were randomized to receive 7 days of treatment with nebulized AZD5423 (75 or 300 μg) once daily, budesonide 200 μg twice daily via Turbuhaler, or placebo in a double-blind, four-period, crossover design study.

Roflumilast attenuates allergen-induced inflammation in mild asthmatic subjects.

Background: Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitors increase intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), leading to regulation of inflammatory cell functions. Roflumilast is a potent and targeted PDE4 inhibitor. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of roflumilast on bronchoconstriction, airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), and airway inflammation in mild asthmatic patients undergoing allergen inhalation challenge.

Effects of interleukin-13 blockade on allergen-induced airway responses in mild atopic asthma.

Rationale: Extensive evidence in animal models supports a role for IL-13 in the pathobiology of asthma. IMA-638 and IMA-026 are fully humanized IgG(1) antibodies that bind to different epitopes and neutralize IL-13 bioactivity.

Objectives: We hypothesized that anti-IL-13 treatment would inhibit allergen-induced late-phase asthmatic responses, airway hyperresponsiveness, and inflammation in subjects with asthma.