• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제85권4호
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• pp.283-288
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• 2022

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by varying and recurrent symptoms, reversible airway obstruction, and bronchospasm. In this paper, clinical important studies on asthma published between March 2021 and February 2022 were reviewed. A study on the relationship between asthma and chronic rhinosinusitis, bronchiectasis, and hormone replacement therapy was published. A journal on the usefulness of fractional exhaled nitric oxide for the prediction of severe acute exacerbation was also introduced. Studies on the effect of inhaler, one of the most important treatments for asthma, were published. Studies on the control of severe asthma continued. Phase 2 and 3 studies of new biologics were also published. As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been prolonged, many studies have explored the prevalence and mortality of COVID-19 infection in asthma patients.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제74권1호
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• pp.7-14
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• 2013

Background: Fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) can be measured easily, rapidly, and noninvasively for the assessment of airway inflammation, particularly mediated by eosinophil, such as asthma. In bronchiectasis (BE), the pathogenesis has been known as chronic airway inflammation and infection with abnormal airway dilatation; however, there are little studies to evaluate the role of FeNO in BE. Methods: From March 2010 to February 2012, 47 patients with BE, diagnosed by high resolution computed tomography (HRCT), performed FeNO, compared with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). All patients carried out a complete blood count including eosinophil count, chemistry, sputum examination, and spirometry, if indicated. A retrospective analysis was performed to elucidate the clinical role of FeNO in BE patients. Results: The mean FeNO levels in patients with BE was $18.8{\pm}1.5$ part per billion (ppb), compared to $48.0{\pm}6.4$ and $31.0{\pm}4.3$ in those with asthma and COPD, respectively (p<0.001). The FeNO levels tended to increase along with the disease severity scores by HRCT; however, it was statistically not significant. FeNO in BE with a co-infection of nontuberculous mycobacteria was the lowest at $17.0{\pm}3.5$ ppb among the study population. Conclusion: FeNO in BE was lower than other chronic inflammatory airway diseases, particularly compared with asthma. For clinical application of FeNO in BE, more large-scaled, prospective studies should be considered.

• 대한기관식도과학회지
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• 제3권1호
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• pp.84-93
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• 1997

The bronchoscopy is usually performed in the patients who present symptoms of wheezing, hemoptysis, signs of airway obstruction, unexplained long-term chronic cough with or without radiologic features of pneumonia, emphysema or atelectasis. The symptoms and signs of cases of suspected airway foreign body are of often cofused with those of asthma pneumonia and other respiratory tract disease. The ventilating bronchoscopy will be helpful for removal of certain foreign bodies as well as alleviating medically-unresponsive bronchopulmonary conditions via removing abnormal secretions or merely improving ventilation. The authors have performed clinical analysis of 59 patients who were suspected of airway foreign bodies and treated by ventilating bronchoscopy from September 1985 to February 1995. The results were as follows: 1) Among the 59 cases of bronchoscopy, 51 cases(97%) were under the age of 3. The ratio of male and female was 2.69:1 2) Most common presenting symptom was coughing(84.7%) followed by dyspnea, fever, wheezing and anterior chest pain. 3) Among 39 cases of identified foreign bodies, abnormal findings in the chest X-ray films were found in 33 cases(84.6%) and most common abnormal radiologic feature was pneumonia in 10 cases(25.6%) followed by combination of pneumonia and emphysema, or emphysema alone. All the 20 cases of absent foreign body presented abnormal radiologic features and common findings were pneumonia and atelectasis. 4) Vegetable foreign bodies were the most common form of removed airway foreign bodies(69.2%) followed by metallic foreign bodies(12.8%) and plastic foreign bodies(7.7%). 5) By distribution of the location of foreign bodies, 29 cases(74.4%) were located in the main bronchus( 16 cases of right side and 13 cases of left side), 8 cases were in the trachea and 2 cases were found at the cordal level. 6) By duration of foreign body lodgement in the airway, 9 cases(23.1%) were removed within 7 to 30 days, 10 cases(5.6%) within 3 days and 5 cases(12.8%) were enlodged over 30 days. 7) In the cases of absent foreign bodies, common bronchoscopic findings were mucopurulent or thick mucoid discharge in the main bronchi, erythema or edema of bronchial mucosa and all the cases were improved after ventilating bronchoscopy with concomitant medical management.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제78권4호
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• pp.326-335
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• 2015

Background: Asian dust is known to have harmful effects on the respiratory system. Respiratory conditions are also influenced by environmental conditions regardless of the presence of pollutants. The same pollutant can have different effects on the airway when the air is dry compared with when it is humid. We investigated hospital visits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma in relation to the environmental conditions. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study using the Korean National Health Insurance Service claims database of patients who visited hospitals in Chuncheon between January 2006 and April 2012. Asian dust, haze, mist, and fog days were determined using reports from the Korea Meteorological Administration. Hospital visits for asthma or COPD on the index days were compared with the comparison days. We used two-way case-crossover techniques with one to two matching. Results: The mean hospital visits for asthma and COPD were $59.37{\pm}34.01$ and $10.04{\pm}6.18$ per day, respectively. Hospital visits for asthma significantly increased at lag0 and lag1 for Asian dust (relative risk [RR], 1.10; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.19; p<0.05) and haze (RR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.06-1.22; p<0.05), but were significantly lower on misty (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.80-0.99; p<0.05) and foggy (RR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.84-0.93; p<0.05) days than on control days. The hospital visits for COPD also significantly increased on days with Asian dust (RR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.05-1.59; p<0.05), and were significantly lower at lag4 for foggy days, compared with days without fog (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.75-0.97; p<0.05). Conclusion: Asian dust showed an association with airway diseases and had effects for several days after the exposure. In contrast to Asian dust, mist and fog, which occur in humid air conditions, showed the opposite effects on airway diseases, after adjusting to the pollutants. It would require more research to investigate the effects of various air conditions on airway diseases.

• 대한의용생체공학회:의공학회지
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• 제40권5호
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• pp.215-221
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• 2019

The respiratory medical device is a medical device that delivers optimal oxygen or a certain amount of humidification to a patient by delivering artificial respiration to a patient through a machine when the patient has lost the ability to breathe spontaneously. These include respirators for use in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and anesthesia or emergency situations, and positive airway pressure devices for treating sleep apnea, and as the population of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and elderly people worldwide surge, the market for the respiratory medical devices it is getting bigger. As the demand for both airway pressure devices, there is a problem that the ventilator standard is applied because the reference standard has not been established. Therefore, the boundaries between the items are blurred due to the purpose, intended use, and method of use overlapping similar items in a respiratory medical device. In addition, for both airway pressure devices, there is a problem that the ventilator standard is applied because the reference standard has not been established. Therefore, in this study, we propose clear classification criteria for the respiratory medical devices according to the purpose, intended use, and method of use and provide safety and performance evaluation guidelines for those items to help quality control of the medical devices. And to contribute to the rapid regulating and improvement of public health. This study investigated the safety and performance test methods through the principles of the respiratory medical device, national and international standards, domestic and international licensing status, and related literature surveys. The results of this study are derived from the safety and performance test items in the individual ventilator(ISO 80601-2-72), the International Standard for positive airway pressure device (ISO 80601-2-70), The safety and performance of humidifiers (ISO 80601-2-74) and the safety evaluation items related to home healthcare environment (IEC 60601-1-11), In addition, after reviewing the guidelines drawn up through expert consultation bodies including manufacturers and importers, certified test inspection institutions, academia, etc., the final guidelines were established through revision and supplementation. Therefore, in this study, we propose guidelines for evaluating the safety and performance of the respiratory medical device in accordance with growing technology development.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• 제15권6호
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• pp.397-403
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• 2011

The proliferation, migration, cytokine release, and contraction of airway smooth muscle cells are key events in the airway remodeling process that occur in lung disease such as asthma, chronic obstruction pulmonary disease, and cancer. These events can be modulated by a number of factors, including cigarette smoke extract (CSE). CSE-induced alterations in the viability, migration, and contractile abilities of normal human airway cells remain unclear. This study investigated the effect of CSE on cell viability, migration, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-${\alpha}$ secretion, and contraction in normal human bronchial smooth muscle cells (HBSMCs). Treatment of HBSMCs with 10% CSE induced cell death, and the death was accompanied by the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). CSE-induced cell death was reduced by N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC), an ROS scavenger. In addition, CSE reduced the migration ability of HBSMCs by 75%. The combination of NAC with CSE blocked the CSE-induced reduction of cell migration. However, CSE had no effect on TNF-${\alpha}$ secretion and NF-${\kappa}B$ activation. CSE induced an increase in intracellular $Ca^{2+}$ concentration in 64% of HBSMCs. CSE reduced the contractile ability of HBSMCs, and the ability was enhanced by NAC treatment. These results demonstrate that CSE treatment induces cell death and reduces migration and contraction by increasing ROS generation in normal HBSMCs. These results suggest that CSE may induce airway change through cell death and reduction in migration and contraction of normal HBSMCs.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제71권4호
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• pp.254-258
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• 2011

Background: Although the aging process and features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have several similarities, the relationship between aging and COPD pathogenesis remains incompletely understood. The klotho gene was found to be related to premature aging and emphysematous changes in an animal model. We investigated whether klotho gene polymorphisms are related to COPD susceptibility and emphysema severity. Methods: A total of 219 COPD subjects from the Korean Obstructive Lung Disease Cohort and 305 control subjects were genotyped for two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the klotho gene associated with coronary artery disease. Logistic regression was performed to determine the association of these SNPs with COPD susceptibility and linear regression was performed to investigate their association with emphysema severity in COPD subjects. Results: The mean age of the COPD subjects was 66 years and their mean FEV1 was 1.46 L. There were no associations between either SNP or COPD susceptibility (p=0.6 and 0.2, respectively) and there were no associations with emphysema severity. Conclusion: Genetic polymorphisms of the klotho gene were not associated with COPD in a Korean population.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제72권1호
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• pp.24-29
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• 2012

Background: Measurement of peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) in a follow-up examination for a chronic airway disease is useful because it has the advantages of being a simple measurement and can be repeated during examination. The aim of this study was to examine the annual decrease of PEFR in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and to confirm the factors which influence this decrease. Methods: From May, 2003 to September, 2010, the annual decrease of PEFR was obtained from asthma and COPD patients attending an outpatient pulmonary clinic. PEFR was measured using a Mini-Wright peak flow meter (Clement Clarke International Ltd. UK), and we conducted an analysis of factors that influence the change of PEFR and its average values. Results: The results showed an annual decrease of $1.70{\pm}12.86$ L/min the asthmatic patients and an annual decrease of $10.3{\pm}7.32$ L/min in the COPD patients. Age and $FEV_1$ were the predictive factors influencing change in asthma, and $FEV_1$ and smoking were the predictive factors influencing change in COPD. Conclusion: We confirmed the annual decreasing PEFR in patients with chronic airway disease and identified factors that work in conjunction with $FEV_1$ to influence the change.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제77권6호
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• pp.237-242
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• 2014

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway that comprises a variety of etiologies and inflammatory phenotypes. Clinically, there is a wide range of patients with varying severities and responses to individual drugs. The introduction of inhaled corticosteroid therapy has dramatically changed the treatment of asthma. Recent development of new therapies suggests the possibility of another breakthrough. These can be categorized as follows: anti-cytokine therapies that usually target eosinophilic inflammation, sublingual immunotherapy, and bronchial thermoplasty. In this paper, we will review the major articles related to asthma treatment that were published in 2013.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• 제29권1호
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• pp.58-63
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• 2021

Asthma is a chronic obstructive lung disease characterized by recurrent episodes of bronchoconstriction and wheezing. Conventional asthma treatment involves the suppression of airway inflammation or improving airway flow. Rosmarinus officialis, also known as rosemary, is a Mediterranean plant that is used for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Carnosol, a diterpenoid found in rosemary extracts, has been known to exhibit anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-oxidant effects. The effect of carnosol on allergic responses has not been tested yet. The effect of carnosol on a murine allergic asthma model were investigated. Carnosol inhibited the degranulation of RBL-2H3 mast cells. Carnosol treatment inhibited the increase in the number of eosinophils in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids (BALF) of mice treated with ovalbumin. Carnosol treatment also inhibited inflammatory responses and mucin production in histologic studies. Carnosol treatment inhibited the increases of IL-4 and IL-13 cytokines expression in both BALF and the lungs. These results suggest that carnosol may have a potential for allergic asthma therapy.