0000000000065763
AUTHOR
Simona Soresi
Deep inspiration-induced changes in lung volume decrease with severity of asthma
Summary We have previously reported that the magnitude of deep inspiration (DI)-induced bronchodilation is only slightly reduced in mild asthmatics, compared to healthy subjects. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether increased severity of asthma is associated with impairment in the ability of DI to induce changes in lung volume. Thirty-six consecutive asthmatics recruited from the Pulmonary and the Allergy Outpatient Clinics of the Institute of Respiratory Diseases of the University of Palermo were divided into 3 groups: Intermittent (I), Mild Persistent (MP) and Moderate–Severe (MS), based on GINA guidelines. Single dose methacholine (Mch) bronchoprovocations were performed in the …
Light smoking and dependence symptoms in high-school students.
Summary In high-school students, prevalence of smoking is high but few studies analyzed smoking in the student population according to nicotine content of smoked cigarettes and gender. We analyzed the responses to a questionnaire, including the modified Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire (FTQ), administered to 555 students (382 males, 173 females) of a professional high school in Palermo, Italy, to assess the prevalence in both genders of: (1) smoking “light” and high nicotine (HN) cigarettes; (2) signs of nicotine dependence and (3) respiratory symptoms. Nicotine content of habitually smoked cigarettes was considered as “light” if ⩽0.8 mg; as high if >0.8 mg. Forty-four percent of students…
Increased leptin/leptin receptor pathway affects systemic and airway inflammation in COPD former smokers
Andreina Bruno1, Marinella Alessi2, Simona Soresi2, Anna Bonanno1, Loredana Riccobono1, Angela Marina Montalbano1, Giusy Daniela Albano1, Mark Gjomarkaj1, Mirella Profita11Institute of Biomedicine and Molecular Immunology, Italian National Research Council, Palermo, Italy; 2Dipartimento Biomedico di Biomedicina Interna e Specialistica, University Palermo, ItalyBackground: Leptin, a hormone produced mainly by adipose tissue, regulates food intake and energy expenditure. It is involved in inflammatory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and its deficiency is associated with increased susceptibility to the infection. The leptin receptor is expressed in the lung and in…