Exercise-induced Bronchoconstriction (EIB) has a high prevalence in elite athletes and has been shown to be shown to be strongly associated with atopy, however the pathogenesis of EIB remains unknown. Methods: 30 elite summer sport athletes (10M, 20F median age 21.5yr): Group A: 10 with asthma (positive Mch), Group B: 10 with EIB (positive EVH, negative Mch), and Group C: 10 without asthma or EIB (negative Mch & EVH ). Each athlete underwent SSTs to 9 common airborne allergens and a hypertonic saline challenge (HSC) with sputum induction. A positive SST was a wheal diameter . 3mm. A positive HSC was defined as the PD10(ml). The sputum differential cell counts and concentration of ECP (mikro g/L) were measured Results: Only 9 of the 10 subjects in each group were included in analysis due to insufficient sputum samples. Atopy: there was a significiant difference in atopy with a mean number of SSTs of: A: 5.8 +/-} 1.7, B: 3.5 +/-} 2.2 and C: 1.5 +/-} 2.1 (p<0.05). HSC: Significant difference in the PD10 geommean (95% CI) ml between each group [A: 7.3 (1.5, 36.1) B: 19.5 (10.3, 37.1) C: 0 (p<0.05)]. Sputum: only a significant difference in the mean eosinophil counts between the groups: A : 14.9 +/-} 21.3%, B: 7.5 +/-} 5.8%, C: 0.3 +/-} 0.4% (p<0.005). ECP: The mean ECP levels (mikro g/L) were: A: 95.8 +/-} 73.8, B: 114.6, C: 15.5 +/-} 9.2 (p<0.05). Conclusion: Eosinophils appear to be involved in the pathogenesis of EIB in elite summer sport athletes, further supporting the role of atopy in the development of EIB
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