Jean Luc Malo

..We conclude that chlorine exposure causes functional and pathological changes in the airways associated with oxidative stress. Inducible nitric oxide synthase is involved in the induction of changes in responsiveness to methacholine...

..The needs for future research are pointed out. Key messages are issued for each item...

..In the epidemiological setting, both spirometry and bronchial responsiveness are feasible and safe. The role of lung function assessments in surveillance programmes is still open to discussion...

..Genetic susceptibility is explored. New diagnostic means are described. Surveillance programs are conducted and preventive measures are proposed...

..All efforts should be made to achieve this goal at an affordable socio-economic cost...

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..Forty to 70 cases of occupational asthma due to sensitization to an agent present in the workplace are accepted each year by the Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail, the Quebec medicolegal agency...

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..The long-term outcomes of acute irritant-induced asthma (IIA) are mostly unknown...

..Bronchial responsiveness and IgE-mediated reactivity are associated with specific bronchial reactivity to allergens...

..Compensation for loss of income (CLI) was found to be significantly higher for men and for OA caused by low-molecular-weight agents...

..The rationale, issues, and controversies relating to this approach are critically reviewed to stimulate the development of a consensus on operational definitions of the various phenotypes of WRA...

..5 years. This study shows that improvement in responsiveness to methacholine continues for years after cessation of exposure but that the improvement is more rapid in the first 2.5 years...

..To evaluate the relationship between maternal asthma, its level of control and severity during pregnancy, and atopic dermatitis (AD) and allergic rhinitis (AR) incidence in children...

..We sought to assess whether a high-molecular-weight occupational allergen was able to induce changes in MMP-9 as well as in other MMPs and TIMPs in subjects with occupational asthma...

..3% (r 3.1-24.1) depending on the cutoff value in sputum eosinophils chosen (greater than 1 or 2%, respectively). The addition of sputum cell counts to PEF monitoring is useful to improve the diagnosis of occupational asthma...

..We conducted a long-term (8-yr) follow-up of 408 apprentices entering programs involving exposure to high-molecular-weight allergens...

..Isocyanates are a common cause of occupational asthma (OA)...

..We examined whether an immediate allergic reaction that induces nasal congestion and inflammation is able to also induce changes in remodeling parameters in nasal fluid...

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..Acute irritant-induced asthma (IrIa) or reactive airways dysfunction syndrome is caused by exposure to a high concentration of an agent. The long-term pathologic consequences of IrIa remain thus far unknown...

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..Our results suggest a predominant nasal eosinophilic inflammatory response after occupational allergen challenge...

..We sought to assess and compare the diurnal variability of PEF during periods at and away from work between subjects with OA and WEA...

..This study evaluated the prevalence of psychiatric disorders in 406 adult asthma patients, and associations between psychiatric status, levels of asthma control, and asthma-related quality of life...

..To examine the association between clinical and socioeconomic variables and their influence on psychological and cost outcomes in patients with occupational asthma (OA)...

..Our aim was to design an equipment, called the GenaSIC, that allows the generation of various agents regardless of the formulation and to assess the feasibility of its use in patients investigated for OA...

..Diagnosis of occupational asthma (OA) by specific inhalation challenge (SIC) can be costly and is not always available. The use of sputum testing to avoid this in some patients may be a more cost-effective alternative...

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..An ancillary objective was to assess the reproducibility of NAL in the context of two different SIC methodologies...

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..To assess the transportability of an existing diagnostic questionnaire model for the sensitization to laboratory animal (LA) allergens...

..To investigate whether the maternal use of different doses of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) during the first trimester of pregnancy for the treatment of asthma increases the risk of congenital malformations in the offspring...

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..The reproducibility of acoustic rhinometry measurements in the setting of occupational challenges has never been examined. This study assessed the reproducibility of acoustic rhinometry during SIC investigation of occupational rhinitis...

..The interpretation of methacholine test results do not usually consider the symptoms for which the subject was referred and those that occur during the test...

..Its role in the surveillance of workers at risk to develop occupational asthma remains to be determined...

..However, SES differences in hospitalization may suggest differential management and/or treatment practices according to socioeconomic status at the emergency departments...

..Further developments in the field of OR are expected to lead to more generalized clinical applications, following the example of what has been achieved for OA...

..This study allowed the authors to identify, within a single setting, the most influential determinants of childhood asthma among 47 predictors assessed for the prenatal, perinatal, and childhood periods...

..To explore one aspect of the external validity of the randomized controlled trial (RCT), specifically how being selected for inclusion in a trial and having participated has influenced the use and cost of asthma-related health services...

..The clinical outcome of asymptomatic airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) remains unclear. A study was undertaken to evaluate the incidence of respiratory symptoms in a cohort of asymptomatic subjects with AHR at baseline...

..The current prospective study investigated the hypothesis of metal fume fever (MFF) being a predictor for the development of respiratory symptoms and functional abnormalities...

..In the assessment of subjects with occupational asthma, information on airway inflammation and psychological impacts are relevant to the assessment of impairment/disability, although these findings need further investigation...

..CONCLUSION: Of the three potential factors for the development of respiratory symptoms that we considered, i.e. RC symptoms, having a measurable PC20 and atopy, having a measurable PC20 is the most significant one...

..Although the long-term clinical, functional and induced sputum sequelae have been examined in workers removed from exposure, the long-term pathological outcomes are unknown...

..As such, MFF could be viewed as a pre-marker of welding related OA, a hypothesis that requires further investigation...

..Skin prick test reactivity to wheat flour and persistent allergic rhinitis on starting exposure to flour are significant determinants for the development of work-related RC symptoms...

..Diisocyanate asthma (DA) affects 2% to 10% of exposed workers, yet the pathogenetic mechanisms underlying this disorder remain ill defined...

..This study indicates that the MCP-1 stimulation assay has greater sensitivity and specificity than the specific antibody assays in correctly identifying DA...

..Subjects with new occupational sensitization are at a greater risk of development of sensitization to common aeroallergens than subjects without sensitization...

..Exposure to laboratory animals often causes the appearance of immunologic sensitization and symptoms...

..We conclude that failure to improve after cessation of exposure to an agent causing OA is associated with airway inflammation at follow-up...