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Category: Severe Asthma Series

  • Gut Health and Asthma

    The gut and lungs are anatomically distinct, but potential anatomic communications and complex pathways involving their respective microbiota have reinforced the existence of a gut–lung axis (GLA). Compared to the better-studied gut microbiota, the lung microbiota, only considered in recent years, represents a more discreet part of the whole microbiota associated to human hosts. Gut…

  • Non-Eosinophilic Asthma (NEA)

    Although non-eosinophilic asthma (NEA) is not the best known and most prevalent asthma phenotype, its importance cannot be underestimated. NEA is characterized by airway inflammation with the absence of eosinophils, subsequent to activation of non-predominant type 2 immunologic pathways. This phenotype, which possibly includes several not well-defined subphenotypes, is defined by an eosinophil count <2%…

  • Why Cell Biology of Asthma Matters

    Cell types responsible for the major pathology in asthma: 1. Epithelial cells – initiate airway inflammation mucus, and 2. Smooth muscle cells – contract excessively to cause airway narrowing. The clinical manifestations of asthma are caused by obstruction of the conducting airways of the lung. Two airway cell types are critical for asthma pathogenesis: epithelial…

  • Aspirin Exacerbated Respiratory Disease

    What is aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) Aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease (AERD) is a clinical tetrad of nasal polyps, chronic hypertrophic eosinophilic sinusitis, asthma and sensitivity to any medication that inhibits cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) enzymes, namely aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) Ingestion of aspirin, and most NSAIDs, results in a spectrum of upper and/or lower respiratory…

  • Genetic Basis of Asthma

    Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease in developed nations and its prevalence has increased in the world over the last 25 years. It is a complex disease with both genetic and environmental risk factors. Asthma is caused by multiple interacting genes, some having a protective effect and others contributing to the disease pathogenesis,…

  • Learn About Biomarkers in Asthma and Why they Matter

    Asthma is a heterogenous disease characterized by multiple phenotypes driven by different mechanisms. The implementation of precision medicine in the management of asthma requires the identification of phenotype-specific markers measurable in biological fluids. To become useful, these biomarkers need to be quantifiable by reliable systems, reproducible in the clinical setting, easy to obtain and cost-effective.…

  • Asthma’s Inner World – a patients journey of discovery

    By Alan Gray World Asthma Foundation (WAF) is supporting care of Asthma and asthmatics around the world through a new Severe Asthma Series focused on “Defeating Asthma” with the aim of shining a spotlight on a deeper understanding and getting to a cure. I’m Alan Gray, the Director of the World Asthma Foundation (WAF) located…

  • Defeating Asthma Series Announced for World Asthma Day, May 5, 2020

      World Asthma Foundation is supporting care of Asthma and asthmatics around the world through a new series focused on Defeating Asthma with the aim of shining a spotlight on getting to a cure The World Asthma Foundation (WAF) exists for education and advocacy for people with asthma who suffer medically with health issues that…