Clinical control of asthma associates with measures of airway inflammation.

Background: Control of asthma is the goal of asthma management worldwide. The Global Initiative for Asthma defined control by a composite measure of clinical findings and future risk but without using markers of airway inflammation, the hallmark of asthma. We investigated whether clinical asthma control reflects eosinophilic inflammation in a broad population.

Persisting remodeling and less airway wall eosinophil activation in complete remission of asthma.

Rationale: Individuals with asthma may outgrow symptoms despite not using treatment, whereas others reach complete remission (CoR) with absence of airway obstruction and bronchial hyperresponsiveness. It is uncertain whether this associates with remission of all inflammatory and remodeling asthma features.

Objectives: To compare the pathologic phenotype of individuals with asthma with CoR and clinical remission (ClinR) and those with active asthma, with and without the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS).

Can AMP induce sputum eosinophils, even in subjects with complete asthma remission?

Background: The definition of "clinical asthma remission" is based on absence of symptoms and use of medication. However, in the majority of these subjects airway inflammation is still present when measured. In the present study we investigated whether "complete asthma remission", additionally defined by the absence of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and the presence of a normal lung function, is associated with the absence of airway inflammation.

Airway epithelial changes in smokers but not in ex-smokers with asthma.

Rationale: Smoking has detrimental effects on asthma outcome, such as increased cough, wheezing, sputum production, and frequency of asthma attacks. This results in accelerated lung function decline. The underlying pathological process of smoke-induced deterioration of asthma is unknown.