Breathing Differences Between Asthmatics and Allergy Sufferers

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BREATHING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ASTHMATICS AND ALLERGY SUFFERERS EXPOSED TO ALLERGENSDo Allergy and Asthma Sufferers Breath Similarly When Exposed to Allergens?

Summary: It has been suggested that asthma and rhinitis (nasal allergy) represent two different combinations of the same disease. An important difference between asthma and rhinitis alone is the fact that a much greater dose of allergen is necessary to cause significant bronchoconstriction in allergy sufferers. This may explain why some individuals with allergies develop asthma symptoms on natural exposure to allergen, whereas others do not. But does allergen exposure provoke the same bronchial response in asthmatic individuals as in allergy sufferers?

Methodology: To answer the question, Emanuele Crimi and his colleagues in the Dipartimenti di Scienze Motorie e Riabilitative di Medicina Interna e di Oncologia Biolgica e Genentica, at the Universita' di Genova, Genoa, Italy, examined nine subjects with mild asthma and eight with only rhinitis (allergy). Each individual underwent methacholine challenges. They were also exposed to allergen inhalation challenges, which were preceded and followed by bronchoalveolar lavage and bronchial biopsy.

Results: The response to methacholine was positive in all asthmatic vs. two rhinitic subjects. The response to allergens was positive in all asthmatic vs. five rhinitic subjects. No significant differences between groups were found in airway inflammatory cells or basement membrane thickness either at baseline or after allergen exposure. However, the ability of deep inhalation to dilate methacholine-constricted airways was greater among allergy sufferers than asthmatic individuals, but it progressively reduced in rhinitis during exposure to allergens.

Conclusions: The researchers concluded that the allergy subjects may develop similar airway inflammation and remodeling as do asthmatic subjects. They also conclude that the difference in bronchial response to allergens between asthmatic individuals and allergy sufferers is associated with different airway mechanics.

Source: Journal of Applied Physiology, September 2001

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Editor's Note: For the full text of the summaries cited above, or to set up an interview with a lead investigator, please contact Donna Krupa at 703.527.7357 (direct dial), 703.967.2751 (cell) or [email protected].