[The study of clinical pathology on bronchial hyperresponsiveness].
OBJECTIVE
To study mechanism of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and the relationship between asymptomatic BHR and asthma.


METHODS
Bronchial biopsies were taken through fiberoptic bronchoscope from 17 cases of asymptomatic BHR, 12 cases of chronic asthma with remission and 10 normal control subjects. Bronchial mucosas were investigated by light microscopy and transmission electron microscope. Analysed by morphometric technique for the granules in both eosinophils (EOS) and mast cells (MC).


RESULTS
Airway allergic inflammation (AAI) existed in 9 cases (53%) with asymptomatic BHR. It was similar in bronchial mucosal pathologic changes to chronic asthma with remission. Inflammation existed in the other 8 cases (47%), but unlike AAI, there were no infiltration of EOS and MC in bronchial mucosa.


CONCLUSIONS
The pathological changes of asthma in bronchial mucosa were existed in a part of patients with asymptomatic BHR.
Ren
S
S
Frist Affiliated Hospital of Shanxi Medical College, Taiyuan.
Li
G
G
Liu
X
X
D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001980:Bronchi / Q000473:pathology; D016535:Bronchial Hyperreactivity / Q000473:pathology*; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000473:pathology