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Herbal medicine treatment reduces inflammation in allergen-induced asthma …
Science Daily (press release) These findings appear online in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Asthma is a unique form of chronic respiratory disease characterized by reversible airway obstruction and pulmonary inflammation. It represents one of the most common chronic … |
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 News Tonight |
Inflammation May Not Be Sole Culprit in Asthma
MedPage Today Recognize that many investigators believe that airway remodeling contributes to the decline in lung function and the development of airway obstruction in patients with chronic, persistent asthma. … Remodeling Asthma Patients' Airways Good News for Asthma Patients Research revelation could shape future long-term treatment of asthma |
View full post on asthma – Google News
Grape Seed Proanthocyanidin Extract Attenuates Airway Inflammation and Hyperresponsiveness in a Murine Model of Asthma by Downregulating Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase.
Planta Med. 2011 Mar 30;
Authors: Zhou DY, Du Q, Li RR, Huang M, Zhang Q, Wei GZ
Allergic asthma is characterized by hyperresponsiveness and inflammation of the airway with increased expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and overproduction of nitric oxide (NO). Grape seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) has been proved to have antioxidant, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, and other pharmacological effects. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of GSPE on airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness in a mouse model of allergic asthma. BALB/c mice, sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA), were intraperitoneally injected with GSPE. Administration of GSPE remarkably suppressed airway resistance and reduced the total inflammatory cell and eosinophil counts in BALF. Treatment with GSPE significantly enhanced the interferon (IFN)- ? level and decreased interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 levels in BALF and total IgE levels in serum. GSPE also attenuated allergen-induced lung eosinophilic inflammation and mucus-producing goblet cells in the airway. The elevated iNOS expression observed in the OVA mice was significantly inhibited by GSPE. In conclusion, GSPE decreases the progression of airway inflammation and hyperresponsiveness by downregulating the iNOS expression, promising to have a potential in the treatment of allergic asthma.
PMID: 21452107 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
View full post on pubmed: asthma
OBESITY IS A DETERMINANT OF ASTHMA CONTROL, INDEPENDENT OF INFLAMMATION AND LUNG MECHANICS.
Chest. 2011 Mar 17;
Authors: Farah CS, Kermode JA, Downie SR, Brown NJ, Hardaker KM, Berend N, King GG, Salome CM
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: It is unclear why obesity is associated with worse asthma control. We hypothesized that: (1) obesity affects asthma control independent of spirometry, airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR); and (2) residual symptoms after resolution of inflammation are due to obesity-related changes in lung mechanics METHODS: 49 asthmatic subjects performed the following, before and after 3 months high-dose inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment: asthma control questionnaire (ACQ-5), spirometry, exhaled nitric oxide (F(E)NO), methacholine challenge and the forced oscillation technique (FOT), which allows for the calculation of respiratory system resistance (Rrs) and reactance (Xrs) as indicators of airway calibre and elastic load, respectively. The effects of treatment were assessed by BMI group (18.5-24.9, 25-29.9, ?30 kg.m(-2)) using ANOVA. Multiple regression analyses determined the independent predictors of ACQ-5. RESULTS: At baseline, the independent predictors of ACQ-5 were FEV(1), F(E)NO and BMI (model r(2) = 0.38, p < 0.001). After treatment, asthma control, spirometry, airway inflammation and AHR improved similarly across BMI groups. The independent predictors of ACQ-5 after treatment were Rrs and BMI (model r(2) = 0.42, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: BMI is a determinant of asthma control independent of airway inflammation, lung function and AHR. After ICS treatment, BMI again predicts ACQ-5, but independent of obesity-related changes in lung mechanics.
PMID: 21415135 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
View full post on pubmed: asthma
Alveolar macrophages modulate allergic inflammation in a murine model of asthma.
Exp Mol Med. 2011 Mar 18;
Authors: Bang BR, Chun E, Shim EJ, Lee HS, Lee SY, Cho SH, Min KU, Kim YY, Park HW
The role of alveolar macrophages (AMs) in the pathogenesis of asthma is still unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of AM in the murine model of asthma. AMs were selectively depleted by liposomes containing clodronate just before allergen challenges, and changes in inflammatory cells and cytokine concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid were measured. AMs were then adoptively transferred to AM-depleted sensitized mice and changes were measured. Phenotypic changes in AMs were evaluated after in vitro allergen stimulation. AM-depletion after sensitization significantly increased the number of eosinophils and lymphocytes and the concentrations of IL-4, IL-5 and GM-CSF in BAL fluid. These changes were significantly ameliorated only by adoptive transfer of unsensitized AMs, not by sensitized AMs. In addition, in vitro allergen stimulation of AMs resulted in their gaining the ability to produce inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1b, IL-6 and TNF-?, and losing the ability to suppress GM-CSF concentrations in BAL fluid. These findings suggested that AMs worked probably through GM-CSF-dependent mechanisms, although further confirmatory experiments are needed. Our results indicate that the role of AMs in the context of airway inflammation should be re-examined.
PMID: 21415590 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
View full post on pubmed: asthma
Gene Expression Patterns of Th2 Inflammation and Intercellular Communication in Asthmatic Airways.
J Immunol. 2010 Dec 27;
Authors: Choy DF, Modrek B, Abbas AR, Kummerfeld S, Clark HF, Wu LC, Fedorowicz G, Modrusan Z, Fahy JV, Woodruff PG, Arron JR
Asthma is canonically thought of as a disorder of excessive Th2-driven inflammation in the airway, although recent studies have described heterogeneity with respect to asthma pathophysiology. We have previously described distinct phenotypes of asthma based on the presence or absence of a three-gene “Th2 signature” in bronchial epithelium, which differ in terms of eosinophilic inflammation, mucin composition, subepithelial fibrosis, and corticosteroid responsiveness. In the present analysis, we sought to describe Th2 inflammation in human asthmatic airways quantitatively with respect to known mediators of inflammation and intercellular communication. Using whole-genome microarray and quantitative real-time PCR analysis of endobronchial biopsies from 27 mild-to-moderate asthmatics and 13 healthy controls with associated clinical and demographic data, we found that asthmatic Th2 inflammation is expressed over a variable continuum, correlating significantly with local and systemic measures of allergy and eosinophilia. We evaluated a composite metric describing 79 coexpressed genes associated with Th2 inflammation against the biological space comprising cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors, identifying distinctive patterns of inflammatory mediators as well as Wnt, TGF-?, and platelet-derived growth factor family members. This integrated description of the factors regulating inflammation, cell migration, and tissue remodeling in asthmatic airways has important consequences for the pathophysiological and clinical impacts of emerging asthma therapeutics targeting Th2 inflammation.
PMID: 21187436 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
View full post on pubmed: asthma
 On Public Speaking |
Black Rice Bran cures asthma, allergies, and inflammation, study
On Public Speaking During the study it has been established that the frequent use of such rice could reduce the risk of diseases such as allergies and asthma, as well as their … |
View full post on asthma – Google News
 PhysOrg.com |
Black rice may relieve inflammation caused by allergies, asthma
Sify Scientists have reported that black rice – a little-known variety of the grain – may help soothe the inflammation involved in allergies, asthma, and other … Black rice How black rice bran may help fight inflammation |
View full post on asthma – Google News
Condition: Asthma
Interventions: Dietary Supplement: Fish Oil; Dietary Supplement: Ascorbic Acid; Dietary Supplement: Fish Oil Placebo; Dietary Supplement: Ascorbic Acid Placebo
Sponsor: Indiana University
Recruiting – verified September 2010
View full post on ClinicalTrials.gov: “Asthma” | updated in the last 30 days
Condition: Asthma
Interventions: Dietary Supplement: Docosahexaenoic Acid; Dietary Supplement: Placebo Docosahexaenoic Acid
Sponsors: Indiana University; Indiana University Department of Kinesiology
Not yet recruiting – verified September 2010
View full post on ClinicalTrials.gov: “Asthma” | updated in the last 30 days