title: Efficacy of long-term macrolide antibiotic therapy in patients with diffuse panbronchiolitis: comparison between HLA-B54-positive and -negative cases.
abstract: This study compared the clinical characteristics and the effects of long-term macrolide antibiotic therapy of HLA-B54-positive and -negative cases in patients with diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB). Thirty-two Japanese patients were enrolled who had the clinical criteria for DPB. All patients received long-term macrolide therapy, and therapeutic results were compared according to the presence or the absence of HLA-B54 antigen. Clinical, laboratory, radiological and bacterial features were strikingly similar in both groups before macrolide therapy. Long-term treatment with macrolides improved clinical symptoms, PaO(2), and forced expiratory volume in 1s (FEV(1)) equally in both groups. This study indicates that genetic susceptibility may not explain the pathogenesis of DPB, and that low-dose macrolide therapy can achieve clinical improvement irrespective of genetic predisposition in DPB.
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Division of Pathogenesis and Disease Control, Oita University Faculty of Medicine, 1-1 Hasama, Oita 879-5593, Japan. kadota@med.oita-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Jun-ichi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kadota
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mukae
authors.forename: Kazunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tomono
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kohno
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nasu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001988:Bronchiolitis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D015235:HLA-B Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D018942:Macrolides / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D015235:HLA-B Antigens; C113783:HLA-B54 antigen; D018942:Macrolides