Mild and Severe Asthma may be Two Diseases

Mild and SevereAsthma MayBe 2 Diseases

The authors of a study reportedrecently

in the European RespiratoryJournal have

concluded that severe asthma andmild

asthma may be different conditionswith different

inflammatory processes. The study,

conducted by scientists acrossEurope,

evaluated 321 patients, 158 with mild-to-moderate

asthma and 163 with severe asthma.

The results of the study showed that

both groups had very differentlevels of key

chemicals in their blood. Also,whereas more

men suffered from asthma, women were4

times as likely to suffer fromsevere asthma.

Individuals with mild-to-moderateasthma

were able to control their symptomswith low

doses of inhaled corticosteroids.Very few

with severe asthma, however, wereable to

have their symptoms treated despitebeing

treated with heavier doses of drugs.