ABSTRACT
Asthma is a complex pulmonary disorder characterized by acute and chronic inammatory processes that produce varying degrees of decreased airow, bronchial hyperresponsiveness, and resulting respiratory symptoms.24 Several cell types and cell mediators, as well as immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies, facilitate and perpetuate inammation. Persistent asthma can lead to remodeling of the airway, characterized by mucus hypersecretion, epithelial injury, smooth muscle hypertrophy, angiogenesis, and underlying brosis. Atopy and gene-by-environment interactions are two of the strongest inuences on the development of asthma.24
