Chest ACCP Member Benefits
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Guest Access | Sign In via User Name/Password
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Free
Right arrow Full Text (PDF) Free
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Article Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by O’Byrne, P. M.
Right arrow Articles by Inman, M. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by O’Byrne, P. M.
Right arrow Articles by Inman, M. D.
(Chest. 2003;123:411S-416S.)
© 2003 American College of Chest Physicians

Airway Hyperresponsiveness*

Paul M. O’Byrne, MB, FCCP and Mark D. Inman, MD

* From the Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Hamilton, ON, Canada.

Correspondence to: Paul M. O’Byrne, MB, FCCP, Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health, St. Joseph’s Hospital, 50 Charlton Ave East, Hamilton, ON, L8N 4A6 Canada; e-mail: obyrnep{at}mcmaster.ca

Airway hyperresponsiveness is a characteristic feature of asthma and consists of an increased sensitivity of the airways to an inhaled constrictor agonist, a steeper slope of the dose-response curve, and a greater maximal response to the agonist. Measurements of airway responsiveness are useful in making a diagnosis of asthma, particularly in patients who have symptoms that are consistent with asthma and who have no evidence of airflow obstruction. These tests can be performed quickly, safely, and reproducibly. Certain inhaled stimuli, such as environmental allergens, increase airway inflammation and enhance airway hyperresponsiveness. These changes in airway hyperresponsiveness are of much smaller magnitude than those seen when asthmatic patients with persistent airway hyperresponsiveness are compared to healthy subjects. They are, however, similar to changes occurring in asthmatic patients that are associated with worsening asthma control. The mechanisms of the transient allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness are not likely to fully explain the underlying mechanisms of the persistent airway hyperresponsiveness in asthmatic patients.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Eur Respir JHome page
K. Takeda, N. Miyahara, T. Kodama, C. Taube, A. Balhorn, A. Dakhama, K. Kitamura, A. Hirano, M. Tanimoto, and E. W. Gelfand
S-carboxymethylcysteine normalises airway responsiveness in sensitised and challenged mice
Eur. Respir. J., October 1, 2005; 26(4): 577 - 585.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.Home page
R. Leigh, R. Ellis, J. Wattie, D. D. Donaldson, and M. D. Inman
Is Interleukin-13 Critical in Maintaining Airway Hyperresposiveness in Allergen-challenged Mice?
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., October 15, 2004; 170(8): 851 - 856.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 ChestHome page
J. M. Drazen
Asthma and the Human Genome Project: Summary of the 45th Annual Thomas L. Petty Aspen Lung Conference
Chest, March 1, 2003; 123(2007): 447S - 449S.
[Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2003 by the American College of Chest Physicians.