TY - JOUR
T1 - Anti-inflammatory effects of low-dose oral theophylline in atopic asthma
AU - Sullivan, P.
AU - Jaffar, Z.
AU - Page, C.
AU - Costello, J.
AU - Bekir, S.
AU - Jeffery, P.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by Napp Laboratories, Cambridge. We thank Sally Sampson and Mary Harris for their assistance throughout the study.
PY - 1994/4/23
Y1 - 1994/4/23
N2 - Theophylline, in addition to its bronchodilator effect, may attenuate inflammation in asthma. We did a double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effect of oral theophylline on the inflammatory response of the bronchial mucosa to inhalation of allergen in 19 atopic asthmatic subjects. Bronchoscopy and bronchial biopsy were done 24 hours after allergen inhalation before and after six weeks of treatment with oral slow-release theophylline, 200 mg 12 hourly. The mean serum concentration was 36·6 μmol/L, which is below the currently-accepted therapeutic range. After treatment with theophylline there was a significant reduction in the number of EG2-positive activated eosinophils (5·9 before and 2·1 after treatment, Wilcoxon signed rank p < 0 05) and total eosinophils (16·7 before and 7 6 after treatment, p < 0·05) beneath the epithelial basement membrane. We conclude that low-dose oral theophylline attenuates airway inflammatory response to allergen inhalation in atopic asthma.
AB - Theophylline, in addition to its bronchodilator effect, may attenuate inflammation in asthma. We did a double-blind placebo-controlled study of the effect of oral theophylline on the inflammatory response of the bronchial mucosa to inhalation of allergen in 19 atopic asthmatic subjects. Bronchoscopy and bronchial biopsy were done 24 hours after allergen inhalation before and after six weeks of treatment with oral slow-release theophylline, 200 mg 12 hourly. The mean serum concentration was 36·6 μmol/L, which is below the currently-accepted therapeutic range. After treatment with theophylline there was a significant reduction in the number of EG2-positive activated eosinophils (5·9 before and 2·1 after treatment, Wilcoxon signed rank p < 0 05) and total eosinophils (16·7 before and 7 6 after treatment, p < 0·05) beneath the epithelial basement membrane. We conclude that low-dose oral theophylline attenuates airway inflammatory response to allergen inhalation in atopic asthma.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0028344025&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/S0140-6736(94)90127-9
DO - 10.1016/S0140-6736(94)90127-9
M3 - Article
C2 - 7909049
AN - SCOPUS:0028344025
SN - 0140-6736
VL - 343
SP - 1006
EP - 1008
JO - The Lancet
JF - The Lancet
IS - 8904
ER -