The complicated, multidimensional development and course of asthma are dependent on both genetics and environment. Control of asthma symptoms is the goal, regardless of phenotype, and better understanding of the type of asthma experienced by a patient allows safer, more effective treatment choices to be made, lessening symptom severity and dependence on inhaled corticosteroids and rescue medication, reducing the frequency of asthma exacerbations, and improving patient quality of life. This issue of The Respiratory Report, based upon selected sessions of the 2009 International Conference of the American Thoracic Society, held May 15–20, 2009, in San Diego, California, explores the molecular and genomic factors that separate different populations of asthma patients and their response to treatment, the genetic underpinnings predisposing some patients to more severe disease or refractoriness to treatment, and the latest approaches to monitoring asthma control. New research on asthma attacks and exacerbations in children is reviewed, as well as the role of genetic testing in managing asthma patients of all ages. Lastly, the use of anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) therapy in patients with moderate-to-severe, allergic asthma is discussed, including its potential use in pediatric patients with asthma and its effectiveness when added to other treatment designed for inadequately controlled patients.
CME, 1 Credits Sep 21, 2009