The Development and Validation of an In Vitro Airway Model to Assess Realistic Airway Deposition and Drug Permeation Behavior of Orally Inhaled Products Across Synthetic Membranes.

Background: Current in vitro approaches to assess lung deposition, dissolution, and cellular transport behavior of orally inhaled products (OIPs) have relied on compendial impactors to collect drug particles that are likely to deposit in the airway; however, the main drawback with this approach is that these impactors do not reflect the airway and may not necessarily represent drug deposition behavior in vivo. The aim of this article is to describe the development and method validation of a novel hybrid in vitro approach to assess drug deposition and permeation behavior in a more representative airway model.

Methods: The medium-sized Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) mouth-throat (MT) and tracheal-bronchial (TB) realistic upper airway models were used in this study as representative models of the upper airway.

Systems Biology and Clinical Practice in Respiratory Medicine. The Twain Shall Meet.

Respiratory diseases are highly complex, being driven by host-environment interactions and manifested by inflammatory, structural, and functional abnormalities that vary over time. Traditional reductionist approaches have contributed vastly to our knowledge of biological systems in health and disease to date; however, they are insufficient to provide an understanding of the behavior of the system as a whole. In this Pulmonary Perspective, we discuss systems biology approaches, especially but not limited to the study of the lung as a complex system.

Inhaler Technique in Asthma: How Does It Relate to Patients' Preferences and Attitudes Toward Their Inhalers?

Background: Correct inhaler technique can increase medication efficacy, reducing both dose and side effects. Patient preference for inhaler device has not been fully explored, and we hypothesized that if patients have a preference and can choose their inhaler, they might be more likely to use it correctly. Our aim was to determine the preferences, attitudes, and perceptions of patients with asthma toward their inhalers, and to evaluate whether any of these factors were related to inhalation technique.

Exploring the role of quantitative feedback in inhaler technique education: a cluster-randomised, two-arm, parallel-group, repeated-measures study.

Background: Feedback is a critical component of any educational intervention. When it comes to feedback associated with inhaler technique education, there is a lack of knowledge on its role or its potential to solve the major issue of poor inhaler technique.

Aims: This study aims to explore the role of feedback in inhaler technique education and its impact on the inhaler technique of patients over time.

Smooth muscle in the maintenance of increased airway resistance elicited by methacholine in humans.

Rationale: Airway narrowing is maintained for a prolonged period after acute bronchoconstriction in humans in the absence of deep inspirations (DIs).

Objectives: To determine whether maintenance of airway smooth muscle (ASM) shortening is responsible for the persistence of airway narrowing in healthy subjects following transient methacholine (MCh)-induced bronchoconstriction.

Methods: On two separate visits, five healthy subjects underwent MCh challenges until respiratory system resistance (Rrs) had increased by approximately 1.

Omega-3 supplementation during the first 5 years of life and later academic performance: a randomised controlled trial.

Background/objectives: Consumption of oily fish more than once per week has been shown to improve cognitive outcomes in children. However, it is unknown whether similar benefits can be achieved by long-term omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. The objective was to investigate the effect of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation during the first 5 years of life on subsequent academic performance in children by conducting a secondary analysis of the CAPS (Childhood Asthma Prevention Study).