Effects of Sodium Cromoglycate on Iranian Asthmatic Subjects Without Exposure to any Bronchoconstrictor agent.

Cromolyn sodium, a mast cell stabilizing agent, provides an immediate protective effect against the exercise-induced bronchoconstriction while being used before the exercise. However, cromolyn is ineffective in reversing asthmatic bronchospasm; it is used as a maintenance therapy and has a prophylactic role in chronic asthma. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent of change in baseline lung function tests following a single dose of cromolyn sodium in adult asthmatics. Forty volunteers (33 women and 7 men) with moderate to severe persistent asthma were randomly assigned to receive 20 mg cromolyn, 40 mg cromolyn or cromolyn-placebo. The percent of improvement in lung function parameters was compared among the groups, during 1 h of inhalation. Low dose of cromolyn induced more improvement in most lung function parameters such as forced expiratory flow volume in one second, forced vital capacity and peak expiratory flow compared with other groups. After 15 min, the improvement percentage of baseline forced expiratory flow volume in one second was 3.35 ± 1.5, for sodium cromoglycate-20 mg group compared with 0.98 ± 1.43 and - 0.68 ± 1.2 for sodium cromoglycate-placebo and sodium cromoglycate-40 mg, groups respectively. However, the differences between means were not significant. Furthermore, based on the definition of American Thoracic Society (ATS) for a "significant post-bronchodilator response" developed in a few patients 15 min after the inhalation of 20 mg cromolyn sodium. It is suggested that probably the inhalation of 20 mg of cromolyn sodium could immediately improve the lung function in few adults with asthma.

Cutaneous granulomas in common variable immunodeficiency: case report and review of literature.

Common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by recurrent infections, autoimmunity, malignancies, and granulomatous inflammation. Granulomatous lesion is one of the important manifestations of CVID, which continues to be unknown to many clinicians. While noncaseating granulomatous lesions can be detected in lungs, liver, spleen or conjunctiva of CVID patients, there are only few reported cases with skin granuloma. This report presents a 27-year-old female with multiple persistent cutaneous granulomatous lesions on both hands. The patient had been well until age of 20 years, when she developed these skin lesions and frequent upper respiratory infections and bacterial pneumonia. Also, she experienced recurrent diarrhea (more than 10 episodes). Laboratory evaluation showed decreased serum levels of all immunoglobulin isotypes and low specific antibody responses. The diagnosis of CVID was based on clinical and laboratory findings. Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy at a dosage of 400-500 mg/kg monthly was introduced and improved skin lesions. In conclusion, taking history of recurrent infections and measuring immunoglobulin levels can be suggested in patients with granulomatous lesions instead of other expensive tests.

Evaluation of humoral immune function in patients with bronchiectasis.

Bronchiectasis is a chronic debilitating condition characterized by abnormal dilated thick-walled bronchi. To investigate humoral immune function in bronchiectatic patients, this study was performed. Forty patients with established diagnosis of bronchiectasis, who were referred from two tertiary care pulmonology centers in Tehran, were investigated in this study. Immunoglobulin isotypes concentrations and IgG-subclasses were measured by nephelometry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) methods, respectively. All patients received unconjugated pneumococcal vaccine, and blood samples were taken before and 21 days after vaccination. Specific antibodies against whole pneumococcal antigens were measured using the ELISA method. Fifteen (37.5%) out of 40 patients were diagnosed to have defects in antibody mediated immunity including 5 (12.5%) patients with immunoglobulin class deficiency (2 with common variable immunodeficiency and 3 with IgA deficiency), 3 (7.5%) with IgG subclass deficiency and 7 (17.5%) patients had Specific antibody deficiency (SAD) against polysaccharide antigen despite normal levels of serum immunoglobulins and IgG subclasses. Our study along with several other studies confirmed that all patients with bronchiectasis should undergo thorough immunological evaluation in order to identify the presence of the underlying immunologic defect. This evaluation should include serum immunoglobulins, IgG subclasses concentrations and also determination of serum antibodies against pneumococcal antigens. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment will prevent the subsequent complications and improve quality of life of affected individuals.