Clinical and experimental allergy : journal of the British Society for Allergy and Clinical Immunology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
A double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effect of inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate for 2 years in patients with nonasthmatic chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with inhaled and oral corticosteroids is common, although their exact role is unclear. Previous studies suggest these drugs may reduce decline in lung function in this group of patients. We report a study investigating the effect of inhaled beclomethasone diproprionate (BDP) on lung function and symptoms in a group of patients with COPD. ⋯ Exacerbation rates were also reduced by inhaled BDP, but again the differences failed to reach conventional levels of statistical significance. The results of this study are consistent with previous published work, but further insight into the long-term role of corticosteroids in COPD await the publication of large studies which have recently been completed. Although the changes seen in this study and others are numerically small, the rate of decline in FEV1 returned to normal levels expected from age-related decline, and hence such treatment combined with other strategies may well have a significant role in the long-term treatment of this condition.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Effect of fluticasone propionate aqueous nasal spray on allergen-induced inflammatory changes in the nasal airways of allergic rhinitics following exposure to nitrogen dioxide.
The authors have recently demonstrated that prior exposure for 6 h to 400 p.p.b. nitrogen dioxide significantly enhances the early phase response of eosinophils in the nasal airways of allergic rhinitics to subsequent allergen provocation. ⋯ These results suggest that FP influences NO2- and allergen-induced changes in eosinophil function, as well as eosinophil number in the nasal airway of allergic rhinitics.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of the effects of salmeterol and salbutamol on clinical activity and eosinophil cationic protein serum levels during the pollen season in atopic asthmatics.
In atopic asthma there is strong evidence of eosinophils playing an active role in pathogenesis. Some investigations demonstrated that eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) serum levels increased in atopic patients with asthma during pollen season. ⋯ This study demonstrates that salmeterol affords a significant improvement in asthma control during the pollen season, measured by both subjective and objective parameters, compared with salbutamol. This greater efficacy may be related to inhibition of eosinophil degranulation during the pollen season.