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Updated: Apr 29, 2026

Conducting Respiratory Oscillometry in an Outpatient Setting
Published on: April 8, 2022
[Ca2+]i oscillations in ASM: relationship with persistent airflow obstruction in asthma
David Sweeney1, Fay Hollins, Edith Gomez
1Institute for Lung Health, Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, NIHR Biomedical Unit, Glenfield Hospital, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK; Department of Cell Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
Abstract:
The cause of airway smooth muscle (ASM) hypercontractility in asthma is not fully understood. The relationship of spontaneous intracellular calcium oscillation frequency in ASM to asthma severity was investigated. Oscillations were increased in subjects with impaired lung function abolished by extracellular calcium removal, attenuated by caffeine and unaffected by verapamil or nitrendipine. Whether modulation of increased spontaneous intracellular calcium oscillations in ASM from patients with impaired lung function represents a therapeutic target warrants further investigation.
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