Research Centre on Asthma and COPD, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Ferrara, Italy.
Allergy. 2010 Feb;65(2):141-51. doi: 10.1111/j.1398-9995.2009.02242.x. Epub 2009 Nov 11.
The involvement of small airways in the pathogenesis of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been debated for a long time. However, a proper definition of small airway disease is still lacking, and neither a widely accepted biomarker nor a functional parameter to assess small airway abnormalities and to explore the effect of tested compounds on small airways is available. Aiming towards increased knowledge and consensus on this topic, this perspective paper intends to (i) strengthen awareness among the scientific community on the role of small airways in asthma and COPD; (ii) examine the pros and cons of some biological, functional and imaging parameters in the assessment of small airway abnormalities; and (iii) discuss the evidence for distal airway pharmacological targeting in asthma and COPD.
小气道在哮喘和慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）发病机制中的作用一直存在争议。然而，小气道疾病的适当定义仍然缺乏，也没有广泛接受的生物标志物或功能参数来评估小气道异常，并探索测试化合物对小气道的作用。本观点文章旨在（i）提高科学界对小气道在哮喘和 COPD 中的作用的认识；（ii）检查评估小气道异常的一些生物学、功能和影像学参数的优缺点；（iii）讨论哮喘和 COPD 中远端气道药物靶向的证据。
