Fractal Geometry of Airway Remodeling in Human Asthma

Airway wall remodeling is an important aspect of asthma. It has proven difficult to assess quantitatively as it involves changes in several components of the airway wall. To develop a simple method for quantifying the overall severity of airway wall remodeling in asthmatic airways using fractal geom...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 2005-10, Vol.172 (7), p.817-823
Main Authors: Boser, Stacey R, Park, Hannah, Perry, Steven F, Menache, Margaret G, Green, Francis H. Y
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Anesthesia. Intensive care medicine. Transfusions. Cell therapy and gene therapy
Asthma
Asthma - pathology
Asthma - physiopathology
Autopsies
Biological and medical sciences
Biopsy
Bronchi - pathology
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma
Emergency and intensive respiratory care
Female
Fractals
Geometry
Humans
Intensive care medicine
Lung - pathology
Lungs
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Muscle, Smooth - pathology
Pneumology
Pulmonary arteries
Silicones
Smooth muscle
Toxicology
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Summary:Airway wall remodeling is an important aspect of asthma. It has proven difficult to assess quantitatively as it involves changes in several components of the airway wall. To develop a simple method for quantifying the overall severity of airway wall remodeling in asthmatic airways using fractal geometry. Negative-pressure silicone rubber casts of lungs were made using autopsy material from three groups: fatal asthma, nonfatal asthma, and nonasthma control. All subjects were lifelong nonsmokers. A fractal dimension was calculated on two-dimensional digital images of each cast. Nonasthma control casts had smooth walls and dichotomous branching patterns with nontapering segments. Asthmatic casts showed many abnormalities, including airway truncation from mucous plugs, longitudinal ridges, and horizontal corrugations corresponding to elastic bundles and smooth muscle hypertrophy, respectively, and surface projections associated with ectatic mucous gland ducts. Fractal dimensions were calculated from digitized images using an information method. The average fractal dimensions of the airways of both the fatal asthma (1.72) and nonfatal asthma (1.76) groups were significantly (p
ISSN:1073-449X
1535-4970
DOI:10.1164/rccm.200411-1463OC