title: [Asthma in elderly: from basic immunology to the clinic].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Asthma is a disease that has been considered mainly in children and teenagers, but due to the longer life expectancy, more elderly patients with pulmonary diseases suggestive of asthma have been detected. The diagnosis of asthma in patients over sixty years of age, becomes more complex, since there are coexistent diseases like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, along with the difficulty for the performance of function pulmonary tests, which impact upon the adequate treatment and quality of life.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To spread and update information on the clinical usefulness of elderly asmathic patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a search for Spanish and English articles, in indexed journals from medical databases. In these papers we looked up the words: geriatrics, asthma, aging, immunosenescence, and we chose those papers with clinical relevance.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the information obtained from the selected 54 articles, we observed that the elderly asthmatic patients, usually do not have a prompt diagnosis and treatment from the health services, therefore affecting their quality of life.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A better knowledge about asthma in the elderly is required, in order to improve their clinical status and quality of life, resulting in better outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Servicios de GeriatrÌa y Alergia, Hospital de la Mujer,Paseo Tlahuica, Yautepec 62731 Morelos. MÈxico.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Quezada-Pérez
authors.forename: Leopoldo Ricardo
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Guido-Bayardo
authors.forename: Pedro Paulo
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Marìn-Larrain
authors.forename: Alma Heidi
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Coss-Mejía
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000628:therapy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans