724 research outputs found
sj-docx-1-tar-10.1177_17534666211037454 – Supplemental material for A new protocol for exercise testing in COPD; improved prediction algorithm for WMAX and validation of the endurance test in a placebo-controlled double bronchodilator study
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-tar-10.1177_17534666211037454 for A new protocol for exercise testing in COPD; improved prediction algorithm for WMAX and validation of the endurance test in a placebo-controlled double bronchodilator study by Ellen Tufvesson, Finn Radner, Anton Simonsen, Georgia Papapostolou, Linnea Jarenbäck, Saga Jönsson, Ulf Nihlen, Alf Tunsäter, Jaro Ankerst, Stefan Peterson, Leif Bjermer and Göran Eriksson in Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease</p
Exercise and asthma: an overview
No full textThe terms 'exercise-induced asthma' (EIA) and 'exercise-induced bronchoconstriction' (EIB) are often used interchangeably to describe symptoms of asthma such as cough, wheeze, or dyspnoea provoked by vigorous physical activity. In this review, we refer to EIB as the bronchoconstrictive response and to EIA when bronchoconstriction is associated with asthma symptoms. EIB is a common occurrence for most of the asthmatic patients, but it also affects more than 10% of otherwise healthy individuals as shown by epidemiological studies. EIA and EIB have a high prevalence also in elite athletes, especially within endurance type of sports, and an athlete's asthma phenotype has been described. However, the occurrence in elite athletes shows that EIA/EIB, if correctly managed, may not impair physical activity and top sports performance. The pathogenic mechanisms of EIA/EIB classically involve both osmolar and vascular changes in the airways in addition to cooling of the airways with parasympathetic stimulation. Airways inflammation plays a fundamental role in EIA/EIB. Diagnosis and pharmacological management must be carefully performed, with particular consideration of current anti-doping regulations, when caring for athletes. Based on the demonstration that the inhaled asthma drugs do not improve performance in healthy athletes, the doping regulations are presently much less strict than previously. Some sports are at a higher asthma risk than others, probably due to a high environmental exposure while performing the sport, with swimming and chlorine exposure during swimming as one example. It is considered very important for the asthmatic child and adolescent to master EIA/EIB to be able to participate in physical activity on an equal level with their peers, and a precise early diagnosis with optimal treatment follow-up is vital in this aspect. In addition, surprising recent preliminary evidences offer new perspectives for moderate exercise as a potential therapeutic tool for asthmatic
Urinary CC16 after challenge with dry air hyperpnoea and mannitol in recreational summer athletes
No full textAirway epithelial injury is regarded as a key contributing factor to the pathogenesis of exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) in athletes. The concentration of the pneumoprotein club cell (Clara cell) CC16 in urine has been found to be a non-invasive marker for hyperpnoea-induced airway epithelial perturbation. Exercise-hyperpnoea induces mechanical, thermal and osmotic stress to the airways. We investigated whether osmotic stress alone causes airway epithelial perturbation in athletes with suspected EIB. Twenty-four recreational summer sports athletes who reported respiratory symptoms on exertion performed a standard eucapnic voluntary hyperpnoea test with dry air and a mannitol test (osmotic challenge) on separate days. Median urinary CC16 increased from 120 to 310 ρg μmol creatinine-1 after dry air hyperpnoea (P = 0.002) and from 90 to 191 ρg μmol creatinine-1 after mannitol (P = 0.021). There was no difference in urinary CC16 concentration between athletes who did or did not bronchoconstrict after dry air hyperpnoea or mannitol. We conclude that, in recreational summer sports athletes with respiratory symptoms, osmotic stress per se to the airway epithelium induces a rise in urinary excretion of CC16. This suggests that hyperosmolarity of the airway surface lining perturbs the airway epithelium in symptomatic athletes.The study was independently supported financially by the World Anti Doping Agency (WADA). Pharmaxis Ltd. provided the mannitol kits free of charge and approved submission of the manuscript for publication
Targeting small airways, a step further in asthma management
No full textIntroduction: During the last decade, small airway (SA) involvement in asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) have reached increasing attention. Originally referred to as the 'silent zone', SA may not be that silent after all. Important clinical correlates are asthma exacerbations and airways remodelling, exercise asthma and nocturnal asthma. Thus, to control pathology in the SA has become a desirable goal in asthma management. Objectives: The scope of this review is to give a brief overview of the current status on SA in asthma, how to monitor and to diagnose SA inflammation and finally highlight some important treatment strategies. Results/Conclusion: New tools have been developed to monitor SA function; these implies the use of imaging techniques and respiratory physiology, targeting SA function. Fractional exhaled nitric oxide and the combined use of hyperresponsiveness testing with impulsoscillometry is another option. The introduction of ultrafine aerosols has provided new tools for to treat SA inflammation. The challenge for the future will be to define the optimal particle size and device for maximal deposition in entire lung, including the small airways. Moreover, we also need strategies for increasing the therapeutic ratio, i.e. increasing lung deposition without increasing systemic side effects. Another challenge is to design and to perform clinical trials, targeting effects in SA, proving the clinical importance of SA treatment in a large number of patients. The latter also imply education of our medical authorities, communicating that asthma is more than a beta-2 agonist responsive central airway disorder of the lungs
Evaluating combination therapies for asthma: pros, cons and comparative benefits
No full textCombination therapies with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and either long-acting ß2 agonists (LABA) or leukotriene receptor antagonists (LTRA) are commonly used to help patients maintain control of their asthma. LABA and LTRA have different mechanisms of action and both provide complementary benefits when combined with ICS. This paper compares the two regimens based on recent clinical trial data, evaluates their efficacy on various clinical and quality of life outcomes, and discusses the importance of therapy choice in people with specific asthma phenotypes. The potential of new dosing strategies, including adjustable maintenance therapy and single-inhaler maintenance and reliever therapy is also reviewed. Given the variety of outcomes, phenotypes, and treatment strategies that must be considered, the importance of individualized management is emphasized
The Importance of Continuity in Inhaler Device Choice for Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
No full textInhaled therapies are central to the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Physicians consider many factors when selecting the most appropriate inhaler device, including device efficacy and the cost to the health care system. This review aims to discuss the factors that are important when considering inhaler devices and the importance of continuity in the choice of inhaler device. A large number of factors can contribute to therapeutic outcomes with inhalation devices. The inhalation technique is critical to treatment success and differs substantially between inhaler devices. Misuse of an inhaler is common, and thorough training of patients and physicians is important to ensure correct utilization. Patient satisfaction is an important consideration because it is significantly correlated with compliance and better outcomes. Financial pressures contribute to decision making: although selecting the less expensive inhaler device might reduce direct treatment costs, it can have a large impact on disease control and the patient's well-being. Switching may be associated with a poor inhalation technique, reduced disease control and quality of life, increased use of other treatments and health care resources, and a greater chance of unsuccessful treatment. Nonconsensual switches can result in patient discontent, reduced confidence in the medication, and uncertainty regarding the degree of disease control. It is recommended that patients with stable disease remain on their current device. If a switch is considered, the patient should be consulted and the physician should take into account the patient's preference, their ability to correctly use the device, and the availability of the preferred drug in the preferred device. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel
Disease activity in asthma, more than symptom control and more than eosinophilic inflammation
No full textComparison of central and peripheral airway involvement before and during methacholine, mannitol and eucapnic hyperventilation challenges in mild asthmatics.
No full textIntroduction: Testing for airway hyperresponsiveness with indirect stimuli as exercise or mannitol has been proposed to better reflect underlying airway inflammation, as compared with methacholine (MCh), believed to act directly on airway smooth muscle cells. Objective: To investigate whether different direct and indirect stimuli induces different patterns of obstruction, recorded as central and peripheral resistance, and to see whether baseline resistance could predict a positive response to direct or indirect provocation. Methods: Thirty-four mild asthmatics and 15 controls underwent MCh, mannitol and eucapnic voluntary hyperventilation (EVH) challenge tests. The response was evaluated with spirometry and impulse oscillometry (IOS). Results: Twenty-three out of 34 asthmatics were positive to either EVH (22) or mannitol (13). Those positive to mannitol had a significant increased baseline value of IOS parameters such as ΔR5-R20 and AX. Twelve of the asthmatics had a 10% fall or more in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV(1) ) in all three challenge tests. However, the response pattern measured by IOS did not differ between the tests. When the limit for a positive mannitol provocation was set to 10% fall in FEV(1) , 16 out of 19 mannitol-positive patients were also positive to EVH. Conclusion: Even in mild asthmatics, a substantial number had a positive indirect test. Mannitol FEV(1) provocative dose to decrease FEV(1) by 10% from baseline (PD10) was closely associated to EVH10%. No difference in bronchoconstrictive pattern could be seen between the different provocation tests, but those positive to mannitol had more peripheral airway involvement at baseline. This supports the idea that peripheral airway involvement is an important predictor of asthma airway reactivity. Please cite this paper as: Aronsson D, Tufvesson E, Bjermer L. Comparison of central and peripheral airway involvement before and during methacholine, mannitol and eucapnic hyperventilation challenges in mild asthmatics. Clin Respir J 2011; 5: 10-18
Asthma referrals: a key component of asthma management that needs to be addressed
No full textDavid Price,1,2 Leif Bjermer,3 David A Bergin,4 Rafael Martinez5 1Centre of Academic Primary Care, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK; 2Observational and Pragmatic Research Institute, Singapore; 3Department of Respiratory Medicine and Allergology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; 4Novartis Ireland Limited, Dublin, Ireland; 5Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland Abstract: Heterogeneity of asthma and difficulty in achieving optimal control are the major challenges in the management of asthma. To help attain the best possible clinical outcomes in patients with asthma, several guidelines provide recommendations for patients who will require a referral to a specialist. Such referrals can help in clearing the uncertainty from the initial diagnosis, provide tailored treatment options to patients with persistent symptoms and offer the patients access to health care providers with expertise in the management of the asthma; thus, specialist referrals have a substantial impact on disease prognosis and the patient’s health status. Hurdles in implementing these recommendations include lack of their dissemination among health care providers and nonadherence to these guidelines; these hurdles considerably limit the implementation of specialist referrals, eventually affecting the rate of referrals. In this review, recommendations for specialist referrals from several key international and national asthma guidelines and other relevant published literature are evaluated. Furthermore, we highlight why referrals are not happening, how this can be improved, and ultimately, what should be done in the specialist setting, based on existing evidence in published literature. Keywords: asthma, disease management, specialization, primary care physicians, referra
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