Physiologic and pathologic abnormalities in severe asthma.
Severe asthma remains poorly understood and frustrating to treat, partly because it is a heterogeneous disease. Recent improvements in the definition of severe asthma have allowed better characterization of the phenotypes of severe asthma and the related physiologic and pathologic abnormalities. Early-onset severe asthma is a more allergy-associated disease than late-onset asthma. Persistent eosinophilia is more commonly seen in patients who have late-onset disease but is associated with a more symptomatic disease in both early- and late-onset disease. Recent studies suggest that response to therapy in severe asthma may depend on the phenotype.
Wenzel
Sally
S
Department of Medicine, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver, CO 80206, USA. wenzels@njc.org
D001249:Asthma / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index