Pulmonary pharmacology & therapeutics
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Pulm Pharmacol Ther · Oct 2011
ReviewThe dynamic face of respiratory research: understanding the effect of airway disease on a lung in constant motion.
The lungs are in a constant state of motion. The dynamic nature of tidal breathing, whereby cycles of pressure changes across the lungs cause the chest wall, lung tissue and airways to repeatedly expand and contract, ventilates the lung tissue and allows respiration to occur. However, these regular cycles of tidal inspirations and expirations are punctuated by breaths of differing volumes, most particularly periodic deep inspirations. ⋯ On the other hand, DI bronchoprotection is completely absent in asthma. Although the mechanisms behind these abnormalities remain unclear, the inability for deep inspirations to both protect against and fully reverse bronchoconstriction in patients with asthma appears critical in the development of airway hyperresponsiveness. As such, determining the pathophysiology responsible for the malfunction of deep inspirations in asthma remains critical to understanding the disease and is likely to pave the way for novel therapeutic targets.