STUDY OBJECTIVES: The bronchial arteries supply systemic blood to the airways, tracheobronchial lymph nodes, and nerves. Their structure has not been studied in patients with asthma. DESIGN: Case-control study of pathologic changes of bronchial arteries in asthma. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Postmortem lungs were examined from three case groups: (1) fatal asthma (n = 12), death due to asthma; (2) nonfatal asthma (n = 12), asthmatic and death due to nonrespiratory causes; and (3) nonasthmatic control subjects (n = 12), no history of asthma and death due to nonrespiratory causes. In bronchial arteries with outer diameters of 0.1 to 1.0 mm, the areas of lumen, intima, and media were measured and compared between case groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in artery size (outer diameter) or in medial area between the three groups. In the two asthma groups, the intimal area was increased (p < 0.05), with a corresponding decrease in luminal area compared with the control group. There was a significant effect of gender, age, and smoking on intimal area. In the asthma cases, the area of bronchial artery intima was related to duration of asthma (p < 0.05), and this increase was associated with smooth muscle proliferation, reduplication, and calcification of the elastica, but not with inflammatory cell infiltration. CONCLUSIONS: While the pathophysiologic significance of these changes is uncertain, the relation to duration of asthma, age, and smoking suggests a secondary response to chronic airway disease.
STUDY OBJECTIVES: The bronchial arteries supply systemic blood to the airways, tracheobronchial lymph nodes, and nerves. Their structure has not been studied in patients with asthma. DESIGN: Case-control study of pathologic changes of bronchial arteries in asthma. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Postmortem lungs were examined from three case groups: (1) fatal asthma (n = 12), death due to asthma; (2) nonfatal asthma (n = 12), asthmatic and death due to nonrespiratory causes; and (3) nonasthmatic control subjects (n = 12), no history of asthma and death due to nonrespiratory causes. In bronchial arteries with outer diameters of 0.1 to 1.0 mm, the areas of lumen, intima, and media were measured and compared between case groups. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in artery size (outer diameter) or in medial area between the three groups. In the two asthma groups, the intimal area was increased (p < 0.05), with a corresponding decrease in luminal area compared with the control group. There was a significant effect of gender, age, and smoking on intimal area. In the asthma cases, the area of bronchial artery intima was related to duration of asthma (p < 0.05), and this increase was associated with smooth muscle proliferation, reduplication, and calcification of the elastica, but not with inflammatory cell infiltration. CONCLUSIONS: While the pathophysiologic significance of these changes is uncertain, the relation to duration of asthma, age, and smoking suggests a secondary response to chronic airway disease.
Authors: Stephen Osiro; Christopher Wear; Ryan Hudson; Xiao-Xiao Ma; Anna Zurada; Maciej Michalak; Marios Loukas Journal: Surg Radiol Anat Date: 2012-05-03 Impact factor: 1.246
Authors: Andrew B Shreiner; Benjamin J Murdock; Amir A Sadighi Akha; Nicole R Falkowski; Paul J Christensen; Eric S White; Cory M Hogaboam; Gary B Huffnagle Journal: Infect Immun Date: 2011-11-07 Impact factor: 3.441
Authors: Benjamin D Medoff; Yoshihisa Okamoto; Patricio Leyton; Meiqian Weng; Barry P Sandall; Michael J Raher; Shinji Kihara; Kenneth D Bloch; Peter Libby; Andrew D Luster Journal: Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol Date: 2009-01-23 Impact factor: 6.914
Authors: Stacey R Boser; Thais Mauad; Bianca Bergamo de Araújo-Paulino; Ian Mitchell; Grishma Shrestha; Andrea Chiu; John Butt; Margaret M Kelly; Elia Caldini; Alan James; Francis H Y Green Journal: PLoS One Date: 2017-08-07 Impact factor: 3.240