Related Research Articles
In medicine, a nebulizer or nebuliser is a drug delivery device used to administer medication in the form of a mist inhaled into the lungs. Nebulizers are commonly used for the treatment of asthma, cystic fibrosis, COPD and other respiratory diseases or disorders. They use oxygen, compressed air or ultrasonic power to break up solutions and suspensions into small aerosol droplets that are inhaled from the mouthpiece of the device. An aerosol is a mixture of gas and solid or liquid particles.
Spirometry is the most common of the pulmonary function tests (PFTs). It measures lung function, specifically the amount (volume) and/or speed (flow) of air that can be inhaled and exhaled. Spirometry is helpful in assessing breathing patterns that identify conditions such as asthma, pulmonary fibrosis, cystic fibrosis, and COPD. It is also helpful as part of a system of health surveillance, in which breathing patterns are measured over time.
Glycopyrronium bromide is a medication of the muscarinic anticholinergic group. It does not cross the blood–brain barrier and consequently has few to no central effects. It is available in oral, intravenous, topical, and inhaled forms. It is a synthetic quaternary ammonium compound.
Bronchoconstriction is the constriction of the airways in the lungs due to the tightening of surrounding smooth muscle, with consequent coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
Fungal pneumonia is an infection of the lungs by fungi. It can be caused by either endemic or opportunistic fungi or a combination of both. Case mortality in fungal pneumonias can be as high as 90% in immunocompromised patients, though immunocompetent patients generally respond well to anti-fungal therapy.
A metered-dose inhaler (MDI) is a device that delivers a specific amount of medication to the lungs, in the form of a short burst of aerosolized medicine that is usually self-administered by the patient via inhalation. It is the most commonly used delivery system for treating asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other respiratory diseases. The medication in a metered dose inhaler is most commonly a bronchodilator, corticosteroid or a combination of both for the treatment of asthma and COPD. Other medications less commonly used but also administered by MDI are mast cell stabilizers, such as cromoglicate or nedocromil.
Exercise-induced asthma, or E.I.A., occurs when the airways narrow as a result of exercise. The preferred term for this condition is exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB); exercise does not cause asthma, but is frequently an asthma trigger.
Obliterative bronchiolitis (OB), also known as constrictive bronchiolitis and popcorn lung, is a disease that results in obstruction of the smallest airways of the lungs (bronchioles) due to inflammation. Symptoms include a dry cough, shortness of breath, wheezing and feeling tired. These symptoms generally get worse over weeks to months. It is not related to cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, previously known as bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia.
DLCO or TLCO is the extent to which oxygen passes from the air sacs of the lungs into the blood. Commonly, it refers to the test used to determine this parameter. It was introduced in 1909.
A post-viral cough is a lingering cough that follows a viral respiratory tract infection, such as a common cold or flu and lasting up to eight weeks. Post-viral cough is a clinically recognized condition represented within the European medical literature. Patients usually experience repeated episodes of post-viral cough. The heightened sensitivity in the respiratory tract is demonstrated by inhalation cough challenge.
The Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) is a medical guidelines organisation which works with public health officials and health care professionals globally to reduce asthma prevalence, morbidity, and mortality. GINA was launched in 1993 as a collaboration between National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, and the World Health Organization.
Occupational asthma is new onset asthma or the recurrence of previously quiescent asthma directly caused by exposure to an agent at workplace. It is an occupational lung disease and a type of work-related asthma. Agents that can induce occupational asthma can be grouped into sensitizers and irritants.
Obstructive lung disease is a category of respiratory disease characterized by airway obstruction. Many obstructive diseases of the lung result from narrowing (obstruction) of the smaller bronchi and larger bronchioles, often because of excessive contraction of the smooth muscle itself. It is generally characterized by inflamed and easily collapsible airways, obstruction to airflow, problems exhaling and frequent medical clinic visits and hospitalizations. Types of obstructive lung disease include; asthma, bronchiectasis, bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Although COPD shares similar characteristics with all other obstructive lung diseases, such as the signs of coughing and wheezing, they are distinct conditions in terms of disease onset, frequency of symptoms and reversibility of airway obstruction. Cystic fibrosis is also sometimes included in obstructive pulmonary disease.
Pulmonary function testing (PFT) is a complete evaluation of the respiratory system including patient history, physical examinations, and tests of pulmonary function. The primary purpose of pulmonary function testing is to identify the severity of pulmonary impairment. Pulmonary function testing has diagnostic and therapeutic roles and helps clinicians answer some general questions about patients with lung disease. PFTs are normally performed by a respiratory therapist, respiratory physiologist, physiotherapist, pulmonologist, and/or general practitioner.
Indacaterol is an ultra-long-acting beta-adrenoceptor agonist developed by Novartis. It needs to be taken only once a day, unlike the related drugs formoterol and salmeterol. It is licensed only for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is delivered as an aerosol formulation through a dry powder inhaler.
The pool chlorine hypothesis is the hypothesis that long-term attendance at indoor chlorinated swimming pools by children up to the age of about 6–7 years is a major factor in the rise of asthma in rich countries since the late twentieth century. A narrower version of the hypothesis, i.e. that asthma may be induced by chlorine related compounds from swimming pools, has been stated based on a small numbers of cases at least as early as 1995. An empirically motivated statement of the wider form of the hypothesis is first known to have been published on the basis of tests of the effects of nitrogen trichloride above chlorinated water on the lung as well as epidemiological evidence by a group of medical researchers led by Alfred Bernard of the Department of Public Health in the Catholic University of Louvain in Brussels, Belgium in 2003. In the epidemiological studies, the association between chlorinated swimming pools and asthma was found to be more significant than factors such as age, sex, ethnic origin, socioeconomic status, exposure to domestic animals and passive smoking, and independent of altitude, climate, and GDP per capita.
Ciclosporin is a cyclic polypeptide that has been used widely as an orally-available immunosuppressant. It was originally used to prevent transplant rejection of solid organs but has also found use as an orally administered agent to treat psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, dry eye and other auto-immune related conditions. A variety of pre-clinical and clinical studies have been and are investigating its use to treat lung-related disorders via inhalation.
Pulmonary veno-occlusive disease (PVOD) is a rare form of pulmonary hypertension caused by progressive blockage of the small veins in the lungs. The blockage leads to high blood pressures in the arteries of the lungs, which, in turn, leads to heart failure. The disease is progressive and fatal, with median survival of about 2 years from the time of diagnosis to death. The definitive therapy is lung transplantation.
β2-adrenoceptor agonists is a group of drugs that act selectively on β2-receptors in the lungs causing bronchodilation. β2-agonists are used to treat asthma and COPD, diseases that cause obstruction in the airways. Prior to their discovery, the non-selective beta-agonist isoprenaline was used. The aim of the drug development through the years has been to minimise side effects, achieve selectivity and longer duration of action. The mechanism of action is well understood and has facilitated the development. The structure of the binding site and the nature of the binding is also well known, as is the structure activity relationship.
Plastic bronchitis (PB) is a disorder in which branching casts of the airways are expectorated. PB is not a single disease with a defined mechanism that explains the cast formation in all conditions. Examples of diseases associated with expectoration of casts, and which sometimes are labeled PB include tuberculosis, atypical mycobacterial disease, allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis and asthma.
References
- ↑ Vandenplas O, Malo JL (November 1997). "Inhalation challenges with agents causing occupational asthma". Eur Respir J. 10 (11): 2612–29. doi: 10.1183/09031936.97.10112612 . PMID 9426105.
- ↑ Cloutier Y, Lagier F, Cartier A, Malo JL (August 1992). "Validation of an exposure system to particles for the diagnosis of occupational asthma". Chest. 102 (2): 402–7. doi:10.1378/chest.102.2.402. PMID 1643922. Archived from the original on 2003-09-05.
- 1 2 Chan-Yeung M (2004). "2003 Christie Memorial lecture. Occupational asthma--the past 50 years". Can Respir J. 11 (1): 21–6. doi:10.1155/2004/861745. PMID 15010728. Archived from the original on 2004-06-22.
- ↑ Cloutier Y, Lagier F, Lemieux R, et al. (September 1989). "New methodology for specific inhalation challenges with occupational agents in powder form". Eur Respir J. 2 (8): 769–77. PMID 2806499.
- ↑ Malo JL, Cartier A, Lemière C, et al. (February 2004). "Exaggerated bronchoconstriction due to inhalation challenges with occupational agents". Eur Respir J. 23 (2): 300–3. doi: 10.1183/09031936.03.00055003 . PMID 14979507.