We are including asthma patients first diagnosed in 1995-2000, and now after more than 10 yr of therapy we are recalling them back for pulmonary function testing and induced sputum sampling. Last year we have analyzed first 18 patients. 11 patients showed a significant decline in the post-bronchodilator FEV1. Those patients demonstrated either increase of IL-5 or VEGF mediators in induced sputum. We are recalling now more patients (we already sampled more than 50 subjects).
COBISS.SI-ID: 26891993
We analyzed the induced sputum of corticosteroid-treated and well-controlled asthma patients for angiogenin, VEGF, IL-8, bFGF and TNF-alpha. We found significantly increased angiogenin and VEGF concentrations. These results suggest that standard therapy does not sufficiently suppress lung remodeling. We additionally showed that in controlled asthma patients there is was also an increase in pulmonary C5a; this potent anphylatoxin was also associated with exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
COBISS.SI-ID: 25417689