Antiasthmatics
Asthma is a chronic lung inflammatory condition that afflicts about 15 million Americans, nearly a third of whom are children. The disease can cause episodes of wheezing, coughing, and breathing difficulty. It is characterized by bronchial hyperresponsiveness and reversible airway obstruction. Bronchial mucosal inflammation is present in all patients. The primary goal of asthma management is to maintain control of the disease process by reducing symptoms and improving lung function.
A related disease is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is often caused and exacerbated by smoking. COPD affects over 5% of the adult population and is worse in Europe and in third-world countries in which smoking is not actively discouraged. It is one of the few conditions for which the mortality and morbidity are still increasing. Similar to asthma, COPD is also a chronic inflammatory condition of the airway. Therefore, asthma drugs often also work for COPD.
