Combined Effect of Isoproterenol and Mechanical Oscillation on the Contractile Response of Mice Airway Smooth Muscle From Healthy and Asthmatic Subjects

The main driving mechanism during an asthma attack is the hyperconstriction of airway smooth muscle (ASM), which reduces the airway lumen and makes normal breathing difficult. The contraction can be relieved by using bronchodilator drugs such as Isoproterenol (ISO). This paper hypothesizes that mechanical oscillations may improve drug therapy when combined with ISO or used alone in asthmatic subjects. Preliminary results indicate that combining ISO with breathing equivalent mechanical oscillations tends to increase the relaxation response, as compared to ISO alone in airways from healthy subjects, but not in the same manner in asthmatic airways. The effect of superposed oscillations of 1% and 1.5% amplitude in the range 5–20 Hz applied over breathing equivalent mechanical oscillations was also assessed in the study.Copyright © 2012 by ASME