Erythromycin treatment in diffuse panbronchiolitis.
Diffuse panbronchiolitis is a chronic infectious airway disease that mainly occurs in the Far East. The prognosis for diffuse panbronchiolitis has dramatically improved over the past 10 years with the use of low-dose long-term erythromycin treatment. The beneficial effect of erythromycin and other 14-membered-ring macrolides in this condition is considered to be due to an anti-inflammatory rather than anti-infective mechanism. Recent investigations have revealed many new actions to the airway epithelial and inflammatory cells, e.g., neutrophils, lymphocytes, and macrophages. Furthermore, erythromycin treatment of diffuse panbronchiolitis provides a new understanding of the pathophysiology and the treatment of chronic infectious airway disease.
Kudoh
S
S
Nippon Medical School, Internal Medicine Dept., Tokyo, Japan.
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001980:Bronchi / Q000187:drug effects; D001988:Bronchiolitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000187:drug effects; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004917:Erythromycin