Objective: We report on a sleep-related respiratory dysrhythmia that is characterized by episodes of bradypnea associated with vocalization.Background: To date, many parasomnias with affinity for NREM sleep, REM sleep or both sleep states have been identified. While the reported clinical syndrome may resemble these known parasomnias, different clinical features are pointed out.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAntigen transport from the airway mucosa to the thoracic lymph nodes (TLNs) was studied in vivo by intratracheal instillation of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated macromolecules. After instillation, FITC(+) cells with stellate morphology were found deep in the TLN T cell area. Using flow cytometry, an FITC signal was exclusively detected in CD11c(med-hi)/major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII)(hi) cells, representing migratory airway-derived lymph node dendritic cells (AW-LNDCs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR), an abnormal increase in airflow limitation following the exposure to a stimulus, is an important pathophysiological characteristic of bronchial asthma. Because of heterogeneity of the airway response to different stimuli, the latter have been divided into direct and indirect stimuli. Direct stimuli cause airflow limitation by a direct action on the effector cells involved in the airflow limitation, while indirect stimuli exert their action essentially on inflammatory and neuronal cells that act as an intermediary between the stimulus and the effector cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to investigate whether dendritic cells (DCs) can induce sensitization to aeroallergen in a mouse model of allergic asthma. Ovalbumin-pulsed (OVA-pulsed) or unpulsed myeloid DCs that were injected into the airways of naive mice migrated into the mediastinal lymph nodes. When challenged 2 weeks later with an aerosol of OVA, activated CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes, eosinophils, and neutrophils were recruited to the lungs of actively immunized mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To evaluate in HIV-1 the extent of phenotypic and genotypic antiretroviral drug resistance and cross-resistance towards the protease inhibitors (PIs) saquinavir, ritonavir, indinavir and nelfinavir among a set of patient samples originating from European and US routine clinical practice and submitted for phenotypic drug resistance testing and/or genotypic analysis. The mutational pattern(s) underlying both resistance and cross-resistance to PIs was investigated.
Method: Over 6000 patient isolates with plasma viral load greater than 1000 copies/ml plasma were analysed.
Chronic rhinitis patients often suffer from unrefreshing sleep and snoring, related to increased nasal resistance to airflow. Previous trials based on subjective assessment of snoring have demonstrated beneficial effects of Breathe Right (BR), a noninvasive external nasal dilator. Polysomnography (PSG) was applied to objectively assess the effects of BR on snoring.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Staging and grading of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder are generally viewed as indicators of prognosis and form the basis of therapy, but they do not predict outcome accurately. This study was designed to evaluate the value for predicting recurrence, progression, and survival of proliferation fraction in transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder determined by immunostaining of histopathologic specimens with the monoclonal antigen MIB-1.
Methods: In a prospectively followed group of 301 patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder, formalin fixed tumor specimens were immunostained and the MIB-1 labeling index was determined.
Advances in the understanding of neural mechanisms in asthma may provide novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of asthma. Excessive activity of cholinergic nerves may be important in asthma. Dysfunction of M2 muscarinic receptors in asthma may lead to excessive bronchoconstriction and mucus secretion and can be induced in animal models by a range of stimuli including allergen, viral infection, ozone, eosinophil products and cytokines.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The airway inflammation observed in asthma is orchestrated by activated Th-2 lymphocytes relevant for the induction of altered airway responsiveness. An increasing body of evidence is accumulating that not only the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5 but also the immunomodulating cytokines IL-12 and possibly IL-10 are crucial for regulating the allergic airway inflammation.
Objective: Since IL-10 is capable of downregulating a broad spectrum of pro-inflammatory cytokines, we wanted to address the role of endogenously produced IL-10 in vivo in allergic asthma.
In 1995, the European Respiratory Society published a European Consensus Statement on the optimal assessment and management of COPD. In the document, several important areas for future research are identified that may help to increase knowledge of the current situation of COPD within Europe; these include pathophysiology, epidemiology, and the clinical benefits of treatment. This article reviews a selection of important data that have become available since the consensus statement was published, with a specific focus on epidemiology and treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFViews on the appropriate use of theophylline in asthma management have varied substantially over the past decades. The recent emphasis on potential anti-inflammatory effects of theophylline has only added to the debate. In current guidelines, theophylline has been positioned mainly as a form of "add-on" therapy in moderate to severe persistent asthma.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe sensory neuropeptides substance P (SP) and neurokinin A (NKA) are localized to sensory airway nerves, from which they can be released by a variety of stimuli, including allergen, ozone, or inflammatory mediators. Sensory nerves containing these peptides are relatively scarce in human airways, but it is becoming increasingly evident that inflammatory cells such as eosinophils, macrophages, lymphocytes, and dendritic cells can produce the tachykinins SP and NKA. Moreover, immune stimuli can boost the production and secretion of SP and NKA.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Objectives: We previously reported eight patients who developed Churg-Strauss syndrome in association with zafirlukast treatment for asthma and postulated that the syndrome resulted from unmasking of a previously existing condition due to corticosteroid withdrawal and not from a direct drug effect. The availability of montelukast, a new leukotriene receptor antagonist with a different molecular structure, permitted us to test this hypothesis. Our goals were to ascertain whether the Churg-Strauss syndrome developed in patients taking montelukast and other novel asthma medications, and to describe potential mechanisms for the syndrome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAdding inhaled long-acting beta(2)-agonists to a low dose of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), results in better clinical asthma control than increasing the dose of ICS. However, this approach may mask underlying airway inflammation. In a double-blind parallel-group study, we evaluated the effect of adding formoterol to a low dose of budesonide, compared with a higher dose of budesonide, on the composition of induced sputum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDendritic cells (DCs) are thought to be responsible for sensitization to inhaled Ag and induction of adaptive immunity in the lung. The characteristics of T cell activation in the lung were studied after transfer of Ag-pulsed bone marrow-derived DCs into the airways of naive mice. Cell division of Ag-specific T cells in vivo was followed in a carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester-labeled cohort of naive moth cytochrome c-reactive TCR transgenic T cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe introduction of guidelines for the management of asthma has led to standardization of management and better care of patients with the condition. Many national and international respiratory societies have developed guidelines for COPD. The World Health Organization and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute are jointly developing guidelines that will present evidence-based recommendations for the management of COPD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Respir Crit Care Med
February 2000
The pathogenesis and functional consequences of airway remodeling in asthma remain to be fully established. In the present study we evaluated the effect of prolonged allergen exposure on airway function and structure in rats. Sensitized Brown Norway rats were repeatedly exposed for periods of 2, 4, or 12 wk to aerosolized ovalbumin (OA) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFClin Exp Allergy
February 2000
Background: Airway dendritic cells (DCs) capture and present inhaled antigen. It is not known whether antigen presentation by DCs in the airways is sufficient to induce sensitization to inhaled antigen in vivo.
Methods: Rats were immunized by intratracheal instillation of ovalbumin (OVA) -pulsed bone marrow-derived DCs or macrophages and exposed 10 days later to a 30-min aerosol of OVA on 3 consecutive days.
4,5,6,7-Tetrahydro-5-methylimidazo[4,5,1-jk][1,4]benzodiazepin-2(1 H)-ones (TIBO), 1, have been shown to significantly inhibit HIV-1 replication, as reported in detail in our prior publications. Since our earlier reports, we have modified the TIBO structures 1 by removing the 5-membered ring of 1, generating 1,3,4,5-tetrahydro-2H-1,4-benzodiazepin-2-ones (TBO), 4, a bicyclic series of compounds. Although compounds 4 possess modest activity when compared to TIBO analogues 1, they clearly demonstrated significant anti-HIV-1 activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious studies have shown that acylated plasma and milk proteins with increased negative charge, derived from various animal and human sources, are potent anti-HIV compounds. The antiviral effects seemed to correlate positively with the number of negative charges introduced into the various polypeptides: proteins with a high content of basic amino acids in which all of the available epsilonNH2 groups were anionized yielded the most potent anti-HIV compounds. It remained unclear however whether the total net negative charge of the various derivatized proteins, or rather the charge density on the protein backbone, is essential for the observed anti-HIV activity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe 1998 World Asthma Meeting (WAM) has been the first multidisciplinary event aimed to consider asthma as a global public health problem in children and adults. The purpose of the meeting was to present state-of-the-art scientific information and to make recommendations on the research agenda for the coming years. Five Working Groups of invited experts were appointed to pin-point the established knowledge and the important questions in the areas of epidemiology, prevention, pathogenesis, management, and education.
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