Associations between asthma, overweight and physical activity in children: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Asthma and obesity are highly prevalent in children, and are interrelated resulting in a difficult-to-treat asthma-obesity phenotype. The exact underlying mechanisms of this phenotype remain unclear, but decreased physical activity (PA) could be an important lifestyle factor. We hypothesize that both asthma and overweight/obesity decrease PA levels and interact on PA levels in asthmatic children with overweight/obesity.

The effect of body weight on distal airway function and airway inflammation.

Background/objectives: Obesity is a global health problem that adversely influences the respiratory system. We assessed the effects of body mass index (BMI) on distal airway function and airway inflammation.

Subjects/methods: Impulse oscillometry (IOS) as a measure of distal airway function, together with spirometry, were assessed in adults with a range of different BMIs.

An ADAM33 polymorphism associates with progression of preschool wheeze into childhood asthma: a prospective case-control study with replication in a birth cohort study.

Background: The influence of asthma candidate genes on the development from wheeze to asthma in young children still needs to be defined.

Objective: To link genetic variants in asthma candidate genes to progression of wheeze to persistent wheeze into childhood asthma.

Materials And Methods: In a prospective study, children with recurrent wheeze from the ADEM (Asthma DEtection and Monitoring) study were followed until the age of six.

Exhaled biomarkers and gene expression at preschool age improve asthma prediction at 6 years of age.

Rationale: A reliable asthma diagnosis is difficult in wheezing preschool children.

Objectives: To assess whether exhaled biomarkers, expression of inflammation genes, and early lung function measurements can improve a reliable asthma prediction in preschool wheezing children.

Methods: Two hundred two preschool recurrent wheezers (aged 2-4 yr) were prospectively followed up until 6 years of age.

Profiling of volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath as a strategy to find early predictive signatures of asthma in children.

Wheezing is one of the most common respiratory symptoms in preschool children under six years old. Currently, no tests are available that predict at early stage who will develop asthma and who will be a transient wheezer. Diagnostic tests of asthma are reliable in adults but the same tests are difficult to use in children, because they are invasive and require active cooperation of the patient.

Integrative genomic analysis identifies a role for intercellular adhesion molecule 1 in childhood asthma.

Background: Childhood asthma is characterized by chronic airway inflammation. Integrative genomic analysis of airway inflammation on genetic and protein level may help to unravel mechanisms of childhood asthma. We aimed to employ an integrative genomic approach investigating inflammation markers on DNA, mRNA, and protein level at preschool age in relationship to asthma development.

Sex differences in the relationship between asthma and overweight in Dutch children: a survey study.

Objective: Obesity has been identified as a risk factor for asthma in children. However, in the Netherlands, the obesity prevalence is rising while the asthma prevalence in children is stabilising. The aim of this study is to clarify the association between asthma and Body Mass Index (BMI) in children and whether this association is influenced by sex.

Multifactorial intervention for children with asthma and overweight (Mikado): study design of a randomised controlled trial.

Background: In children, the prevalence's of both obesity and asthma are disconcertingly high. Asthmatic children with obesity are characterised by less asthma control and a high need for asthma medication. As the obese asthmatic child is becoming more common in the clinical setting and the disease burden of the asthma-obesity phenotype is high, there is an increasing need for effective treatment in these children.

Exercise training in children with asthma: a systematic review.

Exercise can provoke asthma symptoms, such as dyspnoea, in children with asthma. Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) is prevalent in 40-90% of children with asthma. Conversely, exercise can improve physical fitness.

Exhaled breath profiling in diagnosing wheezy preschool children.

Although wheeze is common in preschool children, the underlying pathophysiology has not yet been disentangled. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in exhaled breath may serve as noninvasive markers of early wheeze. We aimed to assess the feasibility of VOC collection in preschool children, and to study whether a VOC profile can differentiate between children with and without recurrent wheeze.

Clinical use of exhaled volatile organic compounds in pulmonary diseases: a systematic review.

There is an increasing interest in the potential of exhaled biomarkers, such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), to improve accurate diagnoses and management decisions in pulmonary diseases. The objective of this manuscript is to systematically review the current knowledge on exhaled VOCs with respect to their potential clinical use in asthma, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis (CF), and respiratory tract infections. A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane database, and reference lists of retrieved studies.

Impact of bacterial colonization on exhaled inflammatory markers in wheezing preschool children.

Wheeze is a common symptom in preschool children. The role of bacteria, regulatory T (T(reg)) cells and their association with airway inflammation in preschool wheeze is largely unknown. We evaluated inflammatory markers in exhaled breath condensate (EBC), bacterial colonization and circulating T(reg) cells in preschool children with and without recurrent wheeze.

Elevated inflammatory markers at preschool age precede persistent wheezing at school age.

Background:   Wheeze is a heterogeneous symptom in preschool children. At preschool age it is hard to predict whether symptoms will pass or persist and develop into asthma. Our objective is to prospectively study whether inflammatory markers in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and pre- and post-bronchodilator interrupter resistance (Rint) assessed at preschool age, are associated with wheezing phenotypes at school age.

Metabolomics of volatile organic compounds in cystic fibrosis patients and controls.

In cystic fibrosis (CF), airway inflammation causes an increased production of reactive oxygen species, responsible for degradation of cell membranes. During this process, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are formed. Measurement of VOCs in exhaled breath of CF patients may be useful for the assessment of airway inflammation.

Early diagnosis of asthma in young children by using non-invasive biomarkers of airway inflammation and early lung function measurements: study protocol of a case-control study.

Background: Asthma is the most common chronic disease in childhood, characterized by chronic airway inflammation. There are problems with the diagnosis of asthma in young children since the majority of the children with recurrent asthma-like symptoms is symptom free at 6 years, and does not have asthma. With the conventional diagnostic tools it is not possible to differentiate between preschool children with transient symptoms and children with asthma.

Feasibility of a new method to collect exhaled breath condensate in pre-school children.

Exhaled breath condensate (EBC) is a promising non-invasive method to assess respiratory inflammation in adults and children with lung disease. Especially in pre-school children, condensate collection is hampered by long sampling times because of open-ended collection systems. We aimed to assess the feasibility of condensate collection in pre-school children using a closed glass condenser with breath recirculation system, which also collects the residual non-condensed exhaled breath, and subsequently recirculates it back into the condenser.

Comparison of the anti-inflammatory effects of extra-fine hydrofluoroalkane-beclomethasone vs fluticasone dry powder inhaler on exhaled inflammatory markers in childhood asthma.

Background: Extra-fine hydrofluoroalkane-beclomethasone differs from other inhaled corticosteroids by its fine aerosol characteristics. Therefore, extra-fine hydrofluoroalkane-beclomethasone may be particularly useful for treating peripheral airway inflammation in asthma.

Objective: To analyze the anti-inflammatory effects of extra-fine hydrofluoroalkane-beclomethasone vs fluticasone dry powder inhaler (DPI) in asthmatic children by measuring bronchial and alveolar nitric oxide (NO) and inflammatory markers in exhaled breath condensate (EBC).