Effects of therapeutic doses of salbutamol alone and combined with beclomethasone dipropionate on airway responsiveness and cyclic AMP plasma levels in asthmatic patients.
Twelve asthmatic patients received by inhalation for 2 weeks, in a double-blind, cross-over design, beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP; 600 micrograms/day) plus salbutamol (S; 900 micrograms/day), or S (900 micrograms/day) alone. Before and after each treatment course the subjects received intravenous cumulative doses of S up to 200 micrograms. In basal conditions and immediately before the next dose forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) and plasma cyclic AMP (cAMP) were measured. BDP+S treatment increased FEV1 basal values (p < 0.05) whereas inhaled S resulted in unsignificant improvement of ventilatory parameters. The slopes of the dose-response curves of FEV1 and plasma cAMP to intravenous S were unaffected by the two treatment courses. Our results suggest that DBP+S, differently from S alone, improves ventilatory function in asthmatic patients and that neither S nor S+BDP seem to affect adrenergic function.
Semeiotica and Nefrologia Medica Institute, Verona University, Italy.
M
M
Ferrari
R
R
Testi
D
D
Romito
S
S
Adami
M
M
Olivieri
L
L
Squassante
M
M
Prior
V
V
Lo Cascio
D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000328:Adult; D000420:Albuterol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001507:Beclomethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000097:blood*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D005541:Forced Expiratory Volume / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
D000242:Cyclic AMP; D001507:Beclomethasone; D000420:Albuterol