Prevention of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction by inhaled frusemide.

To determine whether inhaled frusemide, a diuretic able to interfere with ion and water movement across airway epithelium, can modify exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, a three-part randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was done in asthmatic patients who had a fall in FEV1 of at least 20% after running up and down a corridor. In the first part the effect of approximately 28 mg frusemide given as an aerosol was compared with that of a placebo. In the second part two doses of inhaled frusemide (approximately 14 mg and 28 mg) were examined.

Perspectives in the treatment of reversible airway obstruction.

The pharmacological therapy of asthmatic syndromes is based essentially on the programmed use of disodium cromoglycate, beta-2-stimulants, antimuscarinics, theophyllines and corticosteroids. However, the continual progress being made in pathogenesis and pharmacology suggests, to an ever-increasing extent, the application of new therapeutic approaches for these diseases, some of which are fairly interesting from a speculative point of view although they are as yet of limited practical value. Calcium antagonists and alpha-blockers have a mild anti-reactive effect but this is not sufficiently potent to justify use of these products in the treatment of asthma unless there are also cardiovascular disorders for which these drugs are particularly indicated.

Tolerance of carprofen in patients with asthma caused by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Eight asthmatics with respiratory intolerance to NSAIDs and two subjects (one asthmatic, one healthy) only sensitive (asthma) to pyrazolone drugs were challenged under single-blind conditions with a new NSAID, carprofen. No adverse effects were observed in patients sensitive to pyrazolones. Among the other patients, only three developed considerable bronchial obstruction which was rapidly reversed by inhalation of a beta 2-stimulant (fenoterol: 2 puffs).

Classification of respiratory functional impairment in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Starting from a paper published in 1964 by Wilson et al., we explored the possibility of classifying the clinical and functional deficit of patients with chronic obstructive lung disease into six classes, class 0 representing normality and class 5 greatest severity. Each symptom or sign was classified into six degrees of increasing severity.