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Anti-asthma Drugs, Overview

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Compendium of Inflammatory Diseases

Synonyms

Asthma drugs; Asthma management; Asthma medications; Asthma pharmacology

Introduction

Asthma is a disease of variable airflow obstruction resulting from inflammatory cell infiltration and smooth muscle constriction of the small airways of the lungs. These effects have the potential to cause chronic changes, structural remodeling, and an increase in smooth muscle mass which can contribute to future episodes of obstruction (Fanta 2009). The symptoms of airway hyper-responsiveness and obstruction manifest as recurrent episodic breathlessness and wheeze, associated with cough, particularly at night (Global Strategy for Asthma Management and Prevention 2014). The prevalence of asthma and atopy continues to increase but there has been a decrease in the number of severe exacerbations and mortality (Fanta 2009).

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood (Porter 2012), and genetic and environmental agents contribute to the disease evolution (Busse and Lemanske 2001...

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Correspondence to Bernadette Prentice , Adam Jaffe or Paul S. Thomas .

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Prentice, B., Jaffe, A., Thomas, P.S. (2016). Anti-asthma Drugs, Overview. In: Parnham, M.J. (eds) Compendium of Inflammatory Diseases. Springer, Basel. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7643-8550-7_6

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