BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: T cells play a pivotal role in initiating and orchestrating bronchial inflammation in asthma. However, little is known about changes in T cell subset in the airways. Our objective was to study whether the proportion of CD4+ or CD8+ T cells in the bronchoa1veolar lavage fluid (BALF) of bronchial asthma is different from normal subjects, and whether it is associated with clinical characteristics. METHODS: We examined the percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ cells in the BALF of 37 patients with bronchial asthma and 14 normal controls by flow cytometry. Bronchial asthma was classified as mild, moderate and severe according to bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Skin prick test and pulmonary function tests were performed. RESULTS: The percentage of CD4+ cells in BALF did not differ between asthmatics and controls, however, the percentage of CD8+ cells was significantly higher in asthmatics than contro1s, In asthmatics, the percentage of CD4+ cells and CD8+ cells did not differ between atopic and nonatopic asthmatics. The percentage of CD8+ cells in addition to CD4+ cells was correlated with the percentage of eosinophils in BALF, and the percentage of CD8+ cells also showed negative correlation with FEV, and FEF25-75% CONCLUSION: These results suggest that CD8+ cells as well as CD4+ cells are associated with airway inflammation in bronchial asthma.
Asthma* ; Eosinophils ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Skin ; T-Lymphocytes ; Therapeutic Irrigation

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine if there were significant differences in glenohumeral joint morphology between North American and East Asian populations that may influence sizing and selection of shoulder arthroplasty systems. METHODS: Computed tomography reconstructions of 92 North American and 58 East Asian patients were used to perform 3-dimensional measurements. The proximal humeral position was normalized in all patients by aligning it with the scapular plane utilizing anatomic landmarks. Measurements were performed on the humerus and scapula and included coronal and axial humeral head radius, humeral neck shaft and articular arc angles, glenoid height and width, and critical shoulder angle. Glenohumeral relationships were also measured and included lateral distance to the greater tuberosity and acromion, abduction lever arm, and acromial index. Parametric and nonparametric statistical analyses were used to compare population metrics. RESULTS: East Asian glenohumeral measurements were significantly smaller for all linear metrics (p < 0.05), with the exception of acromial length, which was greater than in the North American cohort (p < 0.001). The increase in acromial length affected all measurements involving the acromion including abduction lever arms. No difference was found between the neck shaft and articular angular measurements. CONCLUSIONS: The East Asian population exhibited smaller shoulder morphometrics than their North American cohort, with the exception of an extended acromial overhang. The morphologic data can provide some additional factors to consider when choosing an optimal shoulder implant for the East Asian population, in addition to creating future designs that may better accommodate this population.
African Americans/*statistics & numerical data ; Aged ; Anthropometry ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/*statistics & numerical data ; European Continental Ancestry Group/*statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Prosthesis Design ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Shoulder/*anatomy & histology ; Shoulder Joint/*anatomy & histology ; Shoulder Prosthesis ; United States/epidemiology