The Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health (FIRH) is a center for the investigation and treatment of

respiratory disease Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathology, pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in Breathing, air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the t ...

s. Based out of St. Joseph's Healthcare in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

, Canada, the institute is a clinical facility with strong research directions. FIRH faculty are also heavily involved at

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

with education at the undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate and continuing medical education levels.

History

Founded in 1978 as the Firestone Regional Chest and Allergy Unit (FRCAU), the institute was designated as the Regional Referral Center by the District Health Council. The institute has maintained this designation, and as of 2006, it services the Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant Local Health Integration Network, a community of 1.4 million people. The institute's research developed in collaboration with clinical activities in order to comprehensively investigate mechanisms and outcomes. Accordingly, a number of

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

and

COPD Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a type of progressive lung disease characterized by long-term respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The main symptoms include shortness of breath and a cough, which may or may not produce mu ...

initiatives were launched, including the development of standardized techniques for symptom assessment, airflow limitation and

bronchial hyperresponsiveness Bronchial hyperresponsiveness (or other combinations with airway or hyperreactivity, BH used as a general abbreviation) is a state characterised by easily triggered bronchospasm (contraction of the bronchioles or small airways). Bronchial hyperresp ...

. Further investigations have included studies of exercise and allergen-induced bronchoconstriction as well as epidemiological studies examining the relationship between prevalence of respiratory illness and pollution. From 2004-2005, the institute was relocated to four floors of the brand new Juravinski Innovation Tower, where more modern research laboratories and expanded clinical facilities were available. In early March 2009, Firestone researchers demonstrated that an experimental drug,

mepolizumab Mepolizumab, sold under the brand name Nucala, is a humanized monoclonal antibody used for the treatment of severe eosinophilic asthma, eosinophilic granulomatosis, and hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES). It recognizes and blocks interleukin-5 (IL ...

can help reduce

eosinophil Eosinophils, sometimes called eosinophiles or, less commonly, acidophils, are a variety of white blood cells (WBCs) and one of the immune system components responsible for combating multicellular parasites and certain infections in vertebrates. A ...

production in sufferers of severe asthma. The study, published in the

New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one. Hist ...

found that treatment with mepolizumab allowed these patients to cut back on treatments of

prednisone Prednisone is a glucocorticoid medication mostly used to immunosuppressive drug, suppress the immune system and decrease inflammation in conditions such as asthma, COPD, and rheumatologic diseases. It is also used to treat high blood calcium ...

Education

The FIRH has trained over 100 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. In addition to this, the FIRH faculty currently teach numerous undergraduate and postgraduate courses at McMaster University.

Research pursuits

The following is a list of the research areas currently being investigated at the FIRH: *Population studies of asthma epidemiology and causation *Studies of asthma management utilizing

biomarkers In biomedical contexts, a biomarker, or biological marker, is a measurable indicator of some biological state or condition. Biomarkers are often measured and evaluated using blood, urine, or soft tissues to examine normal biological processes, p ...

of inflammation *Investigation of novel pharmaceutical therapies for asthma *Investigation of novel procedural therapies for asthma and COPD *Mechanisms of airway hyperresponsiveness and airway remodelling *Trafficking and lung homing of bone-marrow derived

hemopoietic stem cells Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are the stem cells that give rise to other blood cells. This process is called haematopoiesis. In vertebrates, the very first definitive HSCs arise from the ventral endothelial wall of the embryonic aorta within t ...

in allergic asthma and COPD *

Immunobiology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

of allergic asthma *Control of airway and vascular smooth muscle structure, function and intracellular signalling *COPD epidemiology and treatment *COPD and Respiratory Rehabilitation *Pathobiology of

pulmonary fibrosis Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition in which the lungs become scarred over time. Symptoms include shortness of breath, a dry cough, feeling tired, weight loss, and nail clubbing. Complications may include pulmonary hypertension, respiratory failu ...

*Clinical trial center for

idiopathic An idiopathic disease is any disease with an unknown cause or mechanism of apparent wikt:spontaneous, spontaneous origin. From Ancient Greek, Greek ἴδιος ''idios'' "one's own" and πάθος ''pathos'' "suffering", ''idiopathy'' means approxi ...

pulmonary fibrosis *Functional and structural imaging of the lung *Chronic cough

References

External links

Firestone Institute for Respiratory Health
{{DEFAULTSORT:Firestone Institute For Respiratory Health McMaster University Research institutes in Canada