Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 August 2009
Introduction
Asthma is a chronic disorder affecting the conducting airways, in which genetic and environmental factors interact to produce both inflammation and structural changes in the airway wall (Tattersfield et al. 2002). The consequence of these pathological changes is variable airflow limitation which is manifested by recurrent cough and wheeze. Recent asthma guidelines have emphasised the importance of treating the underlying inflammatory response as well as relieving the symptoms of asthma, but beyond the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) and beta-2 adrenoceptor agonists, which were introduced 30–40 years ago, there has been very little new to add to the therapeutic algorithm (British Thoracic Society 2003). While utilisation of these two pharmacotherapies is highly effective in controlling symptoms and improving quality of life, there is no evidence that these therapies either alter the natural history of the disease or ever effect a cure (Martinez 2003). With the possible exception of immunotherapy no treatment has been shown to modify the natural course of the disease and no cure has been identified (Durham et al. 1999).
Most asthma has its origins in early life, and the best predictors of continuation into adulthood are an early age of onset, sensitisation to house dust mites (in environments where this is the major allergen), reduced lung function, and increased bronchial hyper-responsiveness (BHR) in early life (Sears et al. 2003). Even employment of ICS at a very early stage in the disease evolution does not influence outcomes (Covar et al. 2004).
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure no-reply@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.