To determine whether race and gender affect beta(2)receptor-stimulated bronchodilation, we quantified FEV(1)and plasma concentrations of albuterol at various times following the oral administration of a single 8-mg dose of albuterol in 15 black and 15 white male and female asthmatics.
To investigate a possible genetic basis for reported differences in beta-2 receptor expression in atopic subjects, DNA from 42 atopic children (22 asthmatics and 22 with allergic rhinitis) and 30 non-atopic subjects was Southern blotted and Ban-1 restriction fragment polymorphisms (RFLPS) were studied using a 2.6 kb probe of the human beta-2 receptor gene.