We have used immunohistochemistry and monoclonal antibodies to analyze the phenotypic composition and activation status of the cellular infiltrate of bronchial biopsies obtained by fiber optic bronchoscopy of 11 atopic asthmatic subjects (FEV1% predicted range 78 to 114), 9 atopic nonasthmatic control subjects, and 10 normal healthy subjects. Examination of mucosal biopsies obtained from both central (level I) and subsegmental (level II) bronchi showed that the highest number of CD45-, DC3-, DC4-, and CD8-positive cells were found in the group with asthma. There was a significant increase in the number of interleukin-2 receptor (CD25)-positive cells (a marker of lymphocyte activation) at airway level I in the asthmatic group compared with both nonasthmatic atopic (p less than 0.05) and normal control subjects (p less than 0.01). Eosinophil numbers were significantly increased in asthma at both airway levels and at airway level II in the nonasthmatic atopic group when compared with normal healthy control subjects (p less than 0.05). EG2-positive cells (an index of secretion of eosinophil cationic protein following activation) were found at both airway levels in the asthmatic group and at level I in the nonasthmatic atopic control group (p less than 0.05). When asthmatic subjects were compared with normal healthy subjects, there was a reduction in the number of neutrophil elastase-positive cells in the asthmatic subjects which, as a percentage of leukocytes, was significant (p = 0.05).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Fibreoptic bronchoscopy in previously untreated patients with malignant lymphoma provided diagnostic information in 8 of 25 cases with radiological evidence of intrathoracic involvement. There was a marked difference in the pattern of endobronchial involvement between Hodgkin's Disease (HD) and Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) which specifically infiltrated the bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue. Bronchoalveolar lavage was abnormal in only one patient with Hodgkin's Disease in whom the presence of many Sternberg-Reed cells suggested occult dissemination of otherwise localised disease.
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Summary
A simple filter paper technique for estimating nasal secretory activity (NSA) was studied in 179 healthy adults. The technique was reproducible and NSA correlated independently with age and race (P < 0.001 in each case) but not with sex or smoking habits. Subjects with a past history of atopic disease (asthma, rhinitis or eczema) produced significantly more nasal secretion than those without such a history (P<0.03). Among the former there was no significant difference in quantity of secretion recovered between those with and those without a past history of rhinitis.
Increased NSA appears to be a marker of the atopic state and its measurement could be of value in the management of patients with allergic nasal disorders.
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