McFadden E R, Gilbert I A
Airway Disease Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH.
N Engl J Med. 1992 Dec 31;327(27):1928-37. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199212313272708.
There is an active inflammatory process in the airways of patients with asthma, even when the patients are asymptomatic. Some of the types of cells involved in this process possess the necessary biologic activities to produce many of the pathophysiologic features of asthma, but the underlying mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. Reducing the severity of the inflammatory process appears to be a reasonable goal of therapy, with potential long-range implications for the morbidity of asthma. Whether this theoretical benefit will be realized awaits further observation.
即使哮喘患者没有症状，其气道中也存在活跃的炎症过程。参与该过程的一些细胞类型具有产生哮喘许多病理生理特征的必要生物学活性，但潜在机制尚未阐明。减轻炎症过程的严重程度似乎是一个合理的治疗目标，对哮喘的发病率可能具有潜在的长期影响。这种理论上的益处是否会实现还有待进一步观察。
