PULMONARY FUNCTION, ACTIVATED T CELLS, PERIPHERAL BLOOD EOSINOPHILIA, AND SERUM ACTIVITY FOR EOSINOPHIL SURVIVAL IN VITRO: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY IN BRONCHIAL ASTHMA

摘要

A correlation does exist between changes in T cell activation, the number of eosinophils, serum activity towards eosinophil survival in vitro, and the degree of air flow obstruction in patients with asthma. This data confirms the results of Barry Kay published in 1990, but goes further to state that not only will the number of activated T cells and eosinophils decrease with improving function but the opposite was true as well; in other words, declining lung function was associated with a rise in activated T cells, eosinophils, and serum levels of eosinophils surviving. The study was consistent for both 16 patients with "allergic" asthma and the four patients who did not appear to have a significant allergic component to their asthma.