Articles

Exhaled biomarkers in childhood asthma: old and new approaches

Asthma is a chronic condition usually characterized by underlying inflammation. The study of asthmatic inflammation is of the utmost importance for both diagnostic and monitoring purposes. The gold standard fo...

Authors: Valentina Ferraro, Silvia Carraro, Sara Bozzetto, Stefania Zanconato and Eugenio Baraldi

Assessment of predictors for acute asthma attack in asthmatic patients visiting an Ethiopian hospital: are the potential factors still a threat?

Recurrent exacerbations in patients with moderate or severe asthma are the major causes of morbidity, mortality and medical expenditure. Identifying predictors of frequent asthma attack might offer the fertile...

Authors: Sewunet Admasu Belachew, Daniel Asfaw Erku, Dawit Kumilachew Yimenu and Begashaw Melaku Gebresillassie

Effect of adjusting the combination of budesonide/formoterol on the alleviation of asthma symptoms

The combination of budesonide + formoterol (BFC) offers the advantages of dose adjustment in a single inhaler according to asthma symptoms. We analyzed the relationship between asthma symptoms in terms of peak...

Authors: Ryosuke Souma, Kumiya Sugiyama, Hiroyuki Masuda, Hajime Arifuku, Kentaro Nakano, Hiroyoshi Watanabe, Tomoshige Wakayama, Shingo Tokita, Masamitsu Tatewaki, Hideyuki Satoh, Kenya Koyama, Yumeko Hayashi, Fumiya Fukushima, Hirokuni Hirata, Masafumi Arima, Kazuhiro Kurasawa…

Associations of physical activity with childhood asthma, a population study based on the WHO - health behaviour in school-aged children survey

Asthma in paediatric populations is one of the highest public health concerns. In this study of children and adolescents, we hypothesized that low levels of physical activity (PA) would show associations with ...

Authors: Lene Lochte, Poul Erik Petersen, Kim G. Nielsen, Anette Andersen and Thomas A. E. Platts-Mills

Clinical characteristics and comorbidities of elderly asthmatics who attend allergy clinics

To date, few studies have focused on the clinical and allergic characteristics of asthma in the elderly, defined as asthma in people aged 60 or over. Thus, we propose to identify and study the clinical and all...

Authors: Anahí Yáñez, Marcela Soria, Susana De Barayazarra, Nancy Recuero, Francisco Rovira, Edgardo Jares, Ana María Stok, Sergio Nemirovsky and Carlos Bueno

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in asthma candidate genes TBXA2R, ADAM33 FCER1B and ORMDL3 in Pakistani asthmatics a case control study

Genetic variations in different loci and genes are important in asthma pathogenesis. There is much importance of various immunological pathways in the IgE secretion regulation. Alterations in any main part of ...

Authors: Nusrat Saba, Osman Yusuf, Sadia Rehman, Saeeda Munir, Amna Noor, Muhammad Saqlain, Atika Mansoor and Ghazala Kaukab Raja

Inhalation of hydrogen gas attenuates airway inflammation and oxidative stress in allergic asthmatic mice

Asthma is a worldwide common chronic airway disease that cannot be cured and results in the huge burden in public health. Oxidative stress was considered an important mechanism in the pathogenesis of asthma. H...

Authors: Ning Zhang, Changwen Deng, Xingxing Zhang, Jingxi Zhang and Chong Bai

Assessment of knowledge and education relating to asthma during pregnancy among women of childbearing age

Misconceptions about medications’ safety can lead pregnant women with asthma to stop their medications, resulting in asthma-related neonatal morbidity and mortality. Our aim was to assess the level of pregnanc...

Authors: Mohammed O. Al Ghobain, Mohammed AlNemer and Mohammad khan

Microbiome and asthma

The mucosal immune system is in constant communication with the vast diversity of microbes present on body surfaces. The discovery of novel molecular mechanisms, which mediate host-microbe communication, have ...

Authors: Milena Sokolowska, Remo Frei, Nonhlanhla Lunjani, Cezmi A. Akdis and Liam O’Mahony

Identifying the hidden burden of allergic rhinitis (AR) in community pharmacy: a global phenomenon

Patients with allergic rhinitis often trivialise their condition, self-manage inappropriately, and would benefit from health care intervention. The primary point of health care contact for these self-managing ...

Authors: Rachel Tan, Biljana Cvetkovski, Vicky Kritikos, David Price, Kwok Yan, Pete Smith and Sinthia Bosnic-Anticevich

Non adherence to inhalational medications and associated factors among patients with asthma in a referral hospital in Ethiopia, using validated tool TAI

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition of the airways that affects roughly 358 million people globally. It is a serious global health problem with an increasing prevalence worldwide. Most people affected a...

Authors: Asnakew Achaw Ayele and Henok Getachew Tegegn

Ambient ozone and asthma hospital admissions in Texas: a time-series analysis

Many studies have evaluated associations between asthma emergency department (ED) visits, hospital admissions (HAs), and ambient ozone (O₃) across the US, but not in Texas. We investigated the relationship betwee...

Authors: Julie E. Goodman, Ke Zu, Christine T. Loftus, Ge Tao, Xiaobin Liu and Sabine Lange

Associations between serum 25(OH)D concentrations and prevalent asthma among children living in communities with differing levels of urbanization: a cross-sectional study

Prior evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency may increase the risk of asthma and atopy and impair pulmonary function in children.

Authors: Suzanne L. Pollard, John J. Lima, Karina Romero, Carla Tarazona-Meza, Edward Mougey, Katherine Tomaino, Gary Malpartida-Guzmán, Nadia N. Hansel and William Checkley

Asthma: epidemiology of disease control in Latin America – short review

Asthma is reported as one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood, impairing the quality of life of patients and their families and incurring high costs to the healthcare system and society. Despite t...

Authors: Dirceu Solé, Carolina Sanchez Aranda and Gustavo Falbo Wandalsen

Asthma in the elderly: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of the effect of montelukast

Little is known about asthma in the elderly as most studies of this condition have not included this patient group. It is unclear whether leukotriene antagonists benefit older asthmatics. We studied the effect...

Authors: Michele Columbo

Gender-specific determinants of asthma among U.S. adults

Asthma, a chronic respiratory disease affecting over 18.7 million American adults, has marked disparities by gender, race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Our goal was to identify gender-specific demographi...

Authors: Rebecca Greenblatt, Omar Mansour, Edward Zhao, Michelle Ross and Blanca E Himes

Asthma costs and social impact

In recent decades, both asthma prevalence and incidence have been increasing worldwide, not only due to the genetic background, but mainly because of the effect of a wide number of environmental and lifestyle ...

Authors: Carlos Nunes, Ana Margarida Pereira and Mário Morais-Almeida

Preacutionary labelling of cross-reactive foods: The case of rapeseed

Food allergic individuals are exposed to unnecessary dietary restrictions due to precautionary food allergy labelling (PFAL). Two forms of PFAL exist: type I identifies the possible presence of allergenic cont...

Authors: Alessandro Fiocchi, Lamia Dahdah, Carla Riccardi, Oscar Mazzina and Vincenzo Fierro

Manifesto on small airway involvement and management in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an Interasma (Global Asthma Association - GAA) and World Allergy Organization (WAO) document endorsed by Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) and Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA²LEN)

Evidence that enables us to identify, assess, and access the small airways in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has led INTERASMA (Global Asthma Association) and WAO to take a position on...

Authors: F. Braido, N. Scichilone, F. Lavorini, O. S. Usmani, L. Dubuske, L. P. Boulet, R. Mosges, C. Nunes, M. Sánchez-Borges, I. J. Ansotegui, M. Ebisawa, F. Levi-Schaffer, L. J Rosenwasser, J. Bousquet, T. Zuberbier and G. Walter Canonica

Asthma phenotypes: the intriguing selective intervention with Montelukast

Asthma is a heterogeneous disease, usually characterized by chronic airway inflammation and a variable course associated with various underlying mechanisms that can differ between individuals. Patients with as...

Authors: Cottini Marcello and Lombardi Carlo

The management of asthmatic smokers

Asthma is still a major public health problem in most countries; new strategies to better control this disease are necessary. Such strategies must include predisposing factors. One of these factors is smoking ...

Authors: José Miguel Chatkin and Cynthia Rocha Dullius

Potential of molecular based diagnostics and its impact on allergen immunotherapy

Molecular based in vitro technologies greatly changed the diagnostic approaches in allergy. At present, sensitization profiles can be dissected according to IgE subsets, which are specific for genuine or cross...

Authors: Giovanni Melioli, Eleonora Savi, Maria Angiola Crivellaro and Giovanni Passalacqua

A qualitative evaluation of the implementation of guidelines and a support tool for asthma management in primary care

Asthma management in Australia is suboptimal. The “Guidelines for provision of a Pharmacist Only medicine: short acting beta agonists” (SABA guidelines) and a novel West Australian “Asthma Action Plan card” (AAP ...

Authors: Kim Watkins, Colleen Fisher, Jila Misaghian, Carl R. Schneider and Rhonda Clifford

Child maltreatment and pediatric asthma: a review of the literature

Child maltreatment is a common problem with known adverse consequences, yet its contributions to the development and course of pediatric asthma are only poorly understood.

Authors: Hannah M. C. Schreier, Edith Chen and Gregory E. Miller

CXC chemokine superfamily induced by Interferon-γ in asthma: a cross-sectional observational study

Asthma is a disease encompassing a variety of contributing factors. Phenotyping of asthma based on the profile of accumulated granulocytes in the airways has been performed to explore the mediators involved in...

Authors: Yotaro Takaku, Tomoyuki Soma, Yoshitaka Uchida, Takehito Kobayashi, Kazuyuki Nakagome and Makoto Nagata

Treatment of asthma in young children: evidence-based recommendations

In the present review, we focus on evidence-based data for the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS), leukotriene receptor antagonist (LTRA), long-acting beta2-agonits (LABA) and oral corticosteroids (OCS), wit...

Authors: Jose A. Castro-Rodriguez, Adnan Custovic and Francine M. Ducharme

Once-daily fluticasone furoate/vilanterol versus twice daily combination therapies in asthma–mixed treatment comparisons of clinical efficacy

Fluticasone furoate (FF)/vilanterol (VI) is a once-daily inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)/long-acting beta₂ agonist (LABA) combination. FF/VI, 92/22mcg and 184/22mcg, are approved in Europe as maintenance therapy in ...

Authors: Henrik Svedsater, Gillian Stynes, Jaro Wex, Lucy Frith, David Leather, Emanuela Castelnuovo, Michelle Detry and Scott Berry

Asthma in the elderly patient

Asthma affects a significant proportion of elderly patients, but unfortunately, it is responsible for a high asthma-related morbidity and mortality in this population. This may be related not only to the devel...

Authors: Louis-Philippe Boulet

Higher serum levels of periostin and the risk of exacerbations in moderate asthmatics

In asthma, exacerbations and poor disease control are linked to airway allergic inflammation. Serum periostin has been proposed as a systemic biomarker of eosinophilic inflammation. This pilot study aims at ev...

Authors: N. Scichilone, C. Crimi, A. Benfante, S. Battaglia, M. Iemmolo, M. Spatafora and N. Crimi

The geriatric asthma: pitfalls and challenges

Historically, asthma has been envisioned as a disease of younger ages. This has led to the assumption that respiratory symptoms suggestive of asthma occurring in older ages are to be attributed to conditions o...

Authors: Alida Benfante and Nicola Scichilone

The WEB-based Asthma Control: an intriguing connection or a dangerous hazard?

Globally, an estimated 300 million people have asthma, presenting a considerable and increasing burden of disease for healthcare systems, families, and patients themselves. Despite two decades of guidelines, a...

Authors: Carlo Lombardi, Giovanni Passalacqua and Giorgio Walter Canonica

Sickle cell disease: wheeze or asthma?

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most common life-limiting genetic disease among African Americans, affecting more than 100,000 people in the United States. Respiratory disorders in patients with sickle cell d...

Authors: Robyn T. Cohen, Elizabeth S. Klings and Robert C. Strunk

Small airway dysfunction and bronchial asthma control : the state of the art

According to national and international guidelines, achieving and maintaining asthma control is a major goal of disease management. In closely controlled clinical trials, good asthma control can be achieved , ...

Authors: Marcello Cottini, Carlo Lombardi and Claudio Micheletto

Genetic and epigenetic studies of FOXP3 in asthma and allergy

Multiple factors interact to trigger allergic diseases, including individual genetic background and factors related to the environment such as exposure to allergens, air pollution and respiratory infections. T...

Authors: Cintia Rodrigues Marques, Ryan Santos Costa, Gustavo Nunes de Oliveira Costa, Thiago Magalhães da Silva, Tatiane Oliveira Teixeira, Emília Maria Medeiros de Andrade, Alana A. Galvão, Valdirene Leão Carneiro and Camila Alexandrina Figueiredo

The school environment and asthma in childhood

In this article, we discuss the relationship between environmental exposures within the school environment and pediatric asthma morbidity. This article will conclude by reviewing novel school based asthma educ...

Authors: Marissa Hauptman and Wanda Phipatanakul

“Asthma can take over your life but having the right support makes that easier to deal with.” Informing research priorities by exploring the barriers and facilitators to asthma control: a qualitative analysis of survey data

Involving patients and the public in research prioritisation is important. Cochrane Airways works with authors to produce systematic reviews of evidence related to chronic airways disease. Cochrane Airways has...

Authors: Rebecca Normansell and Emma Welsh

Vocal cord dysfunction: a review

Vocal cord dysfunction (VCD) is a term that refers to inappropriate adduction of the vocal cords during inhalation and sometimes exhalation. It is a functional disorder that serves as an important mimicker of ...

Authors: Neha M. Dunn, Rohit K. Katial and Flavia C. L. Hoyte

Allergic rhinitis: the “Ghost Diagnosis” in patients with asthma

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a common comorbidity of asthma that contributes to asthma severity. Although over 80 % of asthmatics have AR, the condition is frequently underdiagnosed in subjects with asthma. AR it...

Authors: Maureen Egan and Supinda Bunyavanich

Psychological aspects in asthma: do psychological factors affect asthma management?

Despite the regular treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) or ICS plus long-acting beta2-agonists, permits to control de majority of asthmatics, a significant proportion of patients does not respond to t...

Authors: Ilaria Baiardini, Francesca Sicuro, Francesco Balbi, Giorgio Walter Canonica and Fulvio Braido

Allergen immunotherapy in asthma; what is new?

The use and role of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) in asthma is still a matter of debate, and no definite recommendation about this is made in guidelines, both for the subcutaneous and sublingual routes. This is...

Authors: Giovanni Passalacqua, Anthi Rogkakou, Marcello Mincarini and Giorgio Walter Canonica

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction: new evidence in pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment

The acute airway narrowing that occurs as a result of exercise is defined exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB). Most recent guidelines recommend distinguishing EIB with underlying clinical asthma (EIB_A) fro...

Authors: Matteo Bonini and Paolo Palange

Asthma research and practice: a new journey begins

Authors: Juan C. Celedon, Giovanni Passalacqua and Giorgio Walter Canonica

The patient with rhinitis in the pharmacy. A cross-sectional study in real life

In the practical management of allergic rhinitis (AR), pharmacists are usually the first-line contact, also because some medications are available as over the counter. Therefore, pharmacists may represent an i...

Authors: Carlo Lombardi, Eleonora Musicco, Francesco Rastrelli, Germano Bettoncelli, Giovanni Passalacqua and Giorgio Walter Canonica

Asthma and obesity: mechanisms and clinical implications

Obesity is the most common asthma co-morbidity; it has been associated with increased risk for asthma exacerbations, worse respiratory symptoms and poor control. The exact mechanisms remain elusive and are pro...

Authors: Cynthia Wilson Baffi, Daniel Efrain Winnica and Fernando Holguin

Vitamin D supplementation decreases Aspergillus fumigatus specific Th2 responses in CF patients with aspergillus sensitization: a phase one open-label study

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) complicated by allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) are vitamin D deficient and in vitro treatment with 1,25 (OH)₂ vitamin D₃ of CD4+ cells from CF patients with ABPA ...

Authors: Nikki Lynn Hue Nguyen, Joseph M. Pilewski, Juan C. Celedón, Sivanarayana Mandalapu, Megan L. Blanchard, Adrienne DeRicco, Elizabeth Hartigan, John F. Alcorn and Jay K. Kolls