Bronchial hyperresponsiveness

Bronchial hyperresponsiveness (or other combinations with airway or hyperreactivity, BH used as a general abbreviation) is a state characterised by easily triggered <a href="/facts/Bronchospasm/E61Q1mGD">bronchospasm</a> (contraction of the <a href="/facts/Bronchioles/2mPRrpQs">bronchioles</a> or small airways).
Bronchial hyperresponsiveness can be assessed with a <a href="/facts/Bronchial_challenge_test/ut3ghvCd">bronchial challenge test</a>. This most often uses products like <a href="/facts/Methacholine/XTwUSQlY">methacholine</a> or <a href="/facts/Histamine/Vfjda665">histamine</a>. These chemicals trigger bronchospasm in normal individuals as well, but people with bronchial hyperresponsiveness have a lower threshold.
Bronchial hyperresponsiveness is a hallmark of <a href="/facts/Asthma/7GkJvxn3">asthma</a> but also occurs frequently in people with <a href="/facts/Chronic_obstructive_pulmonary_disease/ud3oXGCr">chronic obstructive pulmonary disease</a> (COPD). In the Lung Health Study, bronchial hyperresponsiveness was present in approximately two-thirds of patients with non-severe COPD, and this predicted lung function decline independently of other factors. In asthma it tends to be reversible with <a href="/facts/Bronchodilator/IQMu7bra">bronchodilator</a> therapy, while this is not the case in COPD.
Bronchial hyperresponsiveness has been associated with gas cooking among subjects with the GSTM1 null genotype.

Bronchial hyperresponsiveness open-in-new

Bronchial hyperresponsiveness