• The Journal of the Korean life insurance medical association
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• v.18
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• pp.15-20
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• 1999

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.568-574
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• 2002

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.635-645
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• 1995

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.60 no.6
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• pp.601-607
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• 2006

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.431-446
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• 1995

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.273-288
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• 2001

Objectives : In order to study the effect of oral administration of Jungcheonhwadamgangki-tang against the asthma. Method : Asthma was induced to Balb/c mouse with ovalbumin by using method of Hatfield et al. It was observed the changes numbers and morphology of the mast cells in the trachea, numbers of mucous secretory cell in the bronchus, morphology of the bronchus, ultramicroscopical appearance of surface of trachea and number of cilia and mucous secretory cells by scanning electron microscope. Result : 1. Degranulation and decreasing of the numbers of mast cells were significantly decreased in the Jungcheonhwadamgangki-tang extract group as compared with control group. 2. Hypertrophy of mucous membrane of bronchus In the lung, infiltration of inflammatory cells, increasing of mucous secretory cells in the bronchus were significantly decreased in the Jungcheonhwadamgangki-tang extract group as compared with control group. 3. Shedding, decreasing of cilia cells and increasing of mucous secretory cells in the surface of the trachea were significantly decreased in the Jungcheonhwadamgangki-tang extract group as compared with control group. Conclusion : It is considered that Jungcheonhwadamgangki-tang has somewhat favorable effects on the asthma because the asthma specific series of abnormalities in respiratory system were decreased after oral administration of Jungcheonhwadamgangki-tang in this study. In future, it is needed that the toxicological and dosage specific study of Jungcheonwhadamgangki-tang to use against bronchial asthma with safe.

• Advances in Traditional Medicine
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.11-25
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• 2007

Bronchial asthma is a major public health problem worldwide and the morbidity and mortality of asthma have increased in last few decades. There is high prevalence of usage of alternative traditional system of medicines for the treatment of asthma. Large numbers of medicinal plant preparations have been reported to possess anti-asthmatic effects. Plant cells are now considered to be the chemical factories synthesizing a large variety of chemical compounds. Further, Ayurvedic system of medicine has an elaborate description of asthma from the earliest times describing it as 'Shwasa' meaning disease pertaining to breathing. This review classifies the antiasthmatics herbs based on the possible mechanism of action reported. Thus, these plants can be used to obtain a polyherbal formulation which contains various herbs acting at particular sites of the pathophysiological cascade of asthma for prophylaxis as well as for the treatment of asthma.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.50 no.2
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• pp.196-204
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• 2001

Background : Bronchial asthma is characterized by a reversible airway obstruction, airway hyperresponsiveness, and eosinophilic airway inflammation. The bronchodilator response(BDR) after short acting beta agonist inhalation and PC20 with methacholine inhalation are frequently used for diagnosing bronchial asthma. However, the relationship between the presence of a bronchodilator response and the degree of airway hyperresponsiveness is uncertain. Therefore, the availability of a eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) and a correlation ECP with a bronchodilator response and airway hyperresponsiveness was investigated. Method : A total 71 patients with a moderate to severe degree of bronchial asthma were enrolled and divided into two groups. 31 patients with a positive bronchodilator response and 38 patients with a negative bronchodilator response were evaluated. In both groups, the serum ECP, peripheral blood eosinophil counts, and total IgE level were measured and the methacholine bronchial provocation test was examined. Results : There were no differences observed in age, sex, atopy, and baseline spirometry in both groups. The peripheral eosinophil counts showed no difference in both groups, but the ECP level in group 1 (bronchodilator responder group) was higher than in group 2(non-bronchodilator responder group) ($22.4{\pm}20.7$ vs $14.2{\pm}10.4$, mean$\pm$SD). The PC20 in group 1 was significantly lower than in group 2 ($1.14{\pm}1.68$ vs $66{\pm}2.98$). There was a significant positive correlation between the BDR and ECP, and a negative correlation between the bronchial hyperresponsiveness and ECP. Conclusion : The bronchodilator response significantly correlated with the bronchial hyperresponsiveness and serum ECP in the moderate to severe asthma patients. Hence, the positive bronchodilator response is probably related with active bronchial inflammation and may be used as a valuable index in treatment, course and prognosis of bronchial asthma.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.61 no.5
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• pp.433-439
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• 2006

Background: Although airway hyper-responsiveness is one of the characteristics of asthma. bronchial hyper-responsiveness has also been observed to some degree in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Moreover, several reports have demonstrated that a number of patients have both COPD and asthma. The methacholine bronchial challenge test (MCT) is a widely used method for the detecting and quantifying the airway hyper- responsiveness, and is one of the diagnostic tools in asthma. However, the significance of MCT in differentiating asthma or COPD combined with asthma from pure COPD has not been defined. The aim of this study was to determine the role of MCT in differentiating asthma from pure COPD. Method: This study was performed prospectively and was composed of one hundred eleven patients who had undergone MCT at Chonbuk National University Hospital. Sixty-five asthma patients and 23 COPD patients were enrolled and their MCT data were analyzed and compared with the results of a control group. Result: The positive rates of MCT were 65%, 30%, and 9% in the asthma, COPD, and control groups, respectively. The mean $PC_{20}$ values of the asthma, COPD, and control groups were $8.1{\pm}1.16mg/mL$, $16.9{\pm}2.21mg/mL$, and $22.0{\pm}1.47mg/mL$, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of MCT for diagnosing asthma were 65%, 84%, 81%, and 69%, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of MCT (ed note: please check this as I believe that these values correspond to the one $PC_{20}$ value. Please check my changes.) at the new cut-off points of$PC_{20}{\leq}16mg/ml$, were 80%, 75%, 78%, and 78%, respectively. Conclusion: MCT using the new cut-off point can be used as a more precise and useful diagnostic tool for distinguishing asthma from pure COPD.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.46-52
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• 1991

Radioaerosol inhalation imaging (RII) has been used in radionuclide pulmonary studies for the past 20 years. The method is well accepted for assessing regional ventilation because of its usefulness, easy fabrication and simple application system. To evaluate its clinical utility in the study of impaired regional ventilation in bronchial asthma, we obtained and analysed RIIs in 31 patients (16 women and 15 men; age ranging 21-76 years) with typical bronchial asthma at the Department of Radiology, Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic University Medical college, from January, 1988 to August, 1989. Scintiscans were obtained with radioaerosol produced by a BARC(Bhabha Atomic Reserch Center, India) nebulizer with 15 mCi of $^{99m}Tc-phytate$. The scanning was peformed in anterior, posterior and lateral projections following 5-minute inhalation of radioaerosol on sitting position. The scans were analyzed and correlated with the results of pulmonary function study and the findings of chest radiography. Fifteen patients had concomitant lung perfusion image with $^{99m}Tc-MAA$. Follow-up scans were obtained in 5 patients after bronchodilator therapy. The patients were divided into (1) attack type (4 patients), (2) resistant type (5 patients), (3) remittent type (10 patients) and (4) bronchitic type (12 patients). Chest radiography showed hyperinflation, altered pulmonary vascularity, thickening of the bronchial wall and accentuation of basal interstitial markings in 26 of the 31 patients. Chest radiographs were norma! in the remaining 5 patients. Regardless of type, the findings of RII were basically the same, and characterized by the deposition of radioaerosol in the central parts or in the main respiratory air ways along with mottled nonsegmental ventilation defects in the periphery. Peripheral parenchymal defects were more extensive than that of expected findings from clinical symptoms, pulmonary function test and chest radiograph. Broomstick sign was present in 17 patients. The abnormality of RII was poorly correlated with perfusion scans. In all 5 patients treated with bronchodilators, follow-up study demonstrated a decrease in the degree of radioaerosol deposition in the central air way with improved ventilation defects. This study indicates that RII is a useful technique for the evaluation of regional ventilation abnormality and the effect of treatment with bronchodilators in patients with bronchial asthma.