Small airway inflammation in asthma

Autor: Christodoulopoulos Pota, Tulic Meri K, Hamid Qutayba
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2001
Předmět:
Zdroj: Respiratory Research, Vol 2, Iss 6, Pp 333-339 (2001)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1465-9921
DOI: 10.1186/rr83
Popis: Abstract Asthma was originally described as an inflammatory disease that predominantly involves the central airways. Pathological and physiological evidence reported during the past few years suggests that the inflammatory process extends beyond the central airways to the peripheral airways and the lung parenchyma. The small airways are capable of producing T-helper-2 cytokines, as well as chemokines, and they have recently been recognized as a predominant site of airflow obstruction in asthmatic persons. The inflammation at this distal site has been described as more severe than large airway inflammation. These findings are of great clinical significance, and highlight the need to consider the peripheral airways as a target in any therapeutic strategy for treatment of asthma.
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