(A)Symptomatic bronchial hyper-responsiveness and asthma
1997; Elsevier BV; Volume: 91; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/s0954-6111(97)90048-2
ISSN1532-3064
AutoresDÉSIRÉE F. JANSEN, Wim Timens, J Kraan, B Rijcken, D.S. Postma,
Tópico(s)Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Research
ResumoBronchial responsiveness constitutes the phenomenon of the occurrence of airways obstruction upon physical, chemical and pharmacological stimuli (l-3). The clinical presentation in asthmatic individuals includes wheeze, cough and/or dyspnoea upon exercise and inhalation of e.g. cold air, fog and perfume. The prevalence of bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) in the population varies from 6 to 35% (4-14) and is strongly associated with the presence of respiratory symptoms. Even though BHR is generally accompanied by respiratory symptoms, population studies have shown that it may also occur in subjects without any respiratory symptom, so-called asymptomatic hyper-responsiveness (69,12,15). There is increasing evidence that an inflammatory process in the airway wall is one of the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms of BHR in asthma. This inflammatory process may directly or indirectly cause smooth muscle contraction, airway wall oedema, and stimulation of the nervous system, leading to symptoms of cough, wheeze and dyspnoea. It is still unclear whether an inflammatory process is also present in asymptomatic individuals, and if so, whether it has similar cellular components. Furthermore, it is important to assess whether asymptomatic hyper-responsiveness has any prognostic importance as an early sign of disease development.
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