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. 1972 Sep;27(5):572–576. doi: 10.1136/thx.27.5.572

Significance of effect of beta blockade on ventilatory function in normal and asthmatic subjects

R S Jones 1,2
PMCID: PMC470552  PMID: 5083724

Abstract

The lability index was examined in 45 normal subjects between 17 and 45 years and also in six patients with asthma, five with a history of asthma in childhood but no clinical attacks, and three with hay fever. The measurements were repeated after β blockade with propranolol. Fifteen per cent of the normal subjects exhibited a degree of lability after propranolol which has been previously found only in asthma. It is suggested that a constrictor mechanism exists in normal subjects on exercise but that β receptor activity protects them from bronchiolar constriction; post-exercise bronchoconstriction in the asthmatic may be explained in terms of this mechanism. It is also suggested that a proportion of `normal' subjects are potentially more labile than the remainder of the population and that it is these who may develop clinical asthma if they also happen to be atopic subjects.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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