ABSTRACT
External control over the biochemical and physiological events that proceed from stimulation or inhibition of the beta adrenoceptor have had a profound effect on therapeutics and on the lives of many patients with a variety of disorders. In the late 1970s a sudden increase in asthma mortality in New Zealand again prompted speculation and debate concerning this association. The association between beta agonists and asthma mortality represents a fascinating chapter in the history of modern therapeutics, with a relative paucity of definitive data and a consequent tendency for opinion rather than evidence to dominate and polarize the debate. It is therefore not surprising that clinicians were skeptical about the possible role of beta agonists in asthma mortality. For the epidemiologist reviewing the broader picture, the time trend data linking isoprenaline forte and asthma mortality suggested a possible causal association.
