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Emerging Molecular Phenotypes of Asthma.
Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2014 Oct 17;
Authors: Ray A, Oriss TB, Wenzel SE
Abstract
Although asthma has long been considered a heterogeneous disease, attempts to define subgroups of asthma have been limited. In recent years both clinical and statistical approaches have been utilized to better merge clinical characteristics, biology and genetics. These combined characteristics have been used to define “phenotypes” of asthma, the observable characteristics of a patient determined by the interaction of genes and environment. Identification of consistent clinical phenotypes has been reported across studies. Now the addition of various ‘omics and identification of specific molecular pathways has moved the concept of clinical phenotypes towards the concept of molecular phenotypes. The importance of these molecular phenotypes is being confirmed through the integration of molecularly targeted biologic therapies. Thus, the term global asthma is poised to become obsolete, being replaced by terms which more specifically identify the pathology associated with the disease.
PMID: 25326577 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
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