T. Mifune et al., CHEMICAL MEDIATOR AND CELLULAR REACTION IN THE BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGEFLUID OF PATIENTS WITH STEROID-DEPENDENT INTRACTABLE ASTHMA (SDIA), Acta medica Okayama, 47(5), 1993, pp. 323-328
The effects of long-term glucocorticoid therapy on chemical mediator a
nd cellular reaction in the airways were examined in 69 patients with
bronchial asthma. The histamine release induced by Ca ionophore A23187
from cells in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid of atopic asthma
tics was significantly lower in the subgroup with steroid-dependent in
tractable asthma (SDIA) than in non-SDIA patients (p < 0.05). In contr
ast, histamine release in nonatopic SDIA patients did not differ from
nonatopic non-SDIA patients. The release of leukotriene C-4 (LTC(4)) w
as significantly lower in atopic patients with SDIA (p < 0.02). Howeve
r, there was no significant difference in LTC(4) release between nonat
opic patients with SDIA and without SDIA. The proportion of BAL lympho
cytes was significantly lower in atopic patients with SDIA than in tho
se without it (p < 0.05), although there was no significant difference
between the nonatopic patients with and without SDIA. These results s
how that glucocorticoids affect humoral and cellular events in the air
ways of atopic asthmatics more than in those of nonatopic asthmatics.