A complex evaluation of microcirculation and haemostasis status was performed in 250 bronchial asthma patients against the background of treatment with systemic glucocorticosteroids, Theopec, and Saltos. A significant but not simple impact of the medications to these systems was noted. This fact requires further monitoring the haemoreological and haemocoagulating parameters.

An importance of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) for the natural history and clinical presentation of bronchial asthma (BA) was studied. Sixty-four patients with different severity of bronchial asthma and clinical signs of GER were examined. When daily monitoring esophageal pH a frequency of GER was estimated in BA patients with indigestion. A direct correlation was found between respiratory symptoms’ severity and GER. GER correction led to a relief of BA signs, faster stabilization and reduction in need of medications for BA.

The regression analysis of pulmonary function parameters was performed in 90 bronchial asthma patients being observed for 3 years and taking flunisolide and salmeterol. All the patients before the present study continually received systemic corticosteroids in the average daily dose of 11.2±0.5 mg for 6.8±0.7 years. The index of perspective abolishing of long-term taken systemic corticosteroids against the background of longterm therapy with flunisolide and salmeterol was calculated based on the regression analysis of forced expiratory volume for 1 s (FEV₁) and its growth in bronchodilating test (p=0.74, p<01). The abolishment of long-term taken systemic corticosteroids on the condition of continual treatment with inhaled steroids and long-acting β₂-agonists is found to be possible in bronchial asthma patients having the index of <1.56.

An association was investigated between clinical sighs of child’s asthma with gene isoleucine/valine polymorphism of cytochrome P-4501A1 (CYP1A1 lle/Val), null-polymorphism of glutatione-S-transferase M1 (GSTM1”-”), phenotypic N-acetyltransferase (rapid and slow acetylators — RA and SA) and CYP1A (rapid, intermediate and slow metabolizers of theophylline — RM, IM and SM) polymorphism and passive smoking (/7=100). Polyvalent allergy In non-smokers (/7=40) was associated with SA (odds ratio (ОЯ)=1.63; Ci: 0.27-11.87) and normal GSTM1 genotype (OR=3.73; Cl: 0.38-10.73). Early occurrence of asthma was associated with SA (ОЯ=2.48; Cl: 0.45-17.25). Severe asthma course correlated with CYP1A1 lle/Val genotype (OR=2.75; Cl: 0.27-36.24) and SA (ОЯ=1.9; Cl: 0.38-10.73). Smoking modified the functional significance of the polymorph traits. GSTM1 -genotype and SM-phenotype in passive smokers (л=60) were associated with these clinical features of asthma: OR for GSTM1 genotype was 1.98; Cl: 0.46-9.95); 9.0 (Cl: 1.07-409.9); 1.23 (0.36-4.27) for polyvalent allergy, early asthma occurrence and severe course respectively. The values for SM-phenotype were 1.7 (Cl: 0.28-9.25); 2.6 (Cl: 0.29-22.31) and 2.88 (Cl: 0.57-14.24) respectively.

Non-invasive investigation of peripheral vessels' endothelium using mechanical blood flow enhancing of synthesis and secretion of endothelium-relaxing factor (ERF) discovers new prospects to research the endothelium in various pathologies. Nowadays there are no data of endothelium function disorders in chronic obstructive lung diseases.
The aim of this work was to assess the vessel-regulating function of endothelium using high resolution ultrasound in bronchial asthma (BA) patients.
We examined 43 BA patients which were divided into 3 groups according to the disease's phase. The 1^st group consisted of 15 patients with BA exacerbation. The 2^nd group involved 19 patients with finishing exacerbation. The 3^rd group included 9 patients with stable BA. The brachial artery diameter and blood flow rate were measured with high resolution ultrasound at rest, under the reactive hyperemia and the nitroglycerine test.
BA patients showed disorders of endothelium-dependent and endothelium-independent function of the brachial artery. The ultrasonic method implicated allows to study a functional status of endothelium in BA patients under therapy with different medications modulating the endothelium function.

Eighty hospitalized bronchial asthma (BA) patients (50 females, 30 males) were divided in two groups according to hyperventilation occurrence. The average age was 45.4±1.3 years, the mean length of the illness was 9.2±1.1 years. The first group, which was the basic, involved 22 patients with the hyperventilation signs (16 females and 6 males) with the average age 44.8±1.6 years and the BA mean length 10.4±2.3 years. The second (control) group included the remained 58 patients (34 females and 24 males with the average age 47.0±2.4 years and the BA mean length 8.7±1.2 years). The mild atopic BA with a quite good course predominated in the basic group, and the severe intrinsic BA combined with chronic bronchitis prevailed in the control group. The basic group patients mostly (15 from 22) formed the hyperventilation signs within subsyndromal somatic panic attacks which started in closed stuffy rooms, or under subjectively unpleasant smells exposure, etc., were shown as dyspnoe with insignificant shortness of breath, a sense of "incomplete inspiration" accompanied by paroxysmal choking, yawning. Typically they took short time, stopped spontaneously and imitated acute bronchial obstruction symptoms, though PEF remained normal or changed less than 15% of predictive value. The searched clinical correlations could be interpreted according to a concept of congenital sensitivity of chemoreceptors (Smoller J. W. et al., 1996). The study results confirm that hyperventilation signs are basically formed in mild BA patients within the structure of the panic attacks. These data could be useful while planning therapy for such patients.

The article demonstrates results of multi-center randomized placebo-controlled study of efficacy of 4 drug modes of post-exercise bronchoconstriction prevention in asthmatic children who received long-term therapy with inhaled corticosteriods. The combination of fluticazone propionate and salmeterol (Seretid 50/100) was found to be beneficial and reasonable as the first-line therapy. An increase of the inhaled corticosteroid’s dose in asthmatic children with post-exercise bronchoconstriction is reasonable if its combination with the long-acting β₂-agonist does not permit to achieve a sufficient bronchoprotective effect.