Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition of the lung resulting from an adverse immune
reaction, which seems to be allergic or atopic in nature. Allergic and atopic conditions,
such as asthma, have been recognized for many years. Pirquet [
[1]
] initially defined the term allergy as being various forms of altered reactivity, specifically an adverse immune reaction.
Although initially used to refer to humoral, or antibody-mediated, adverse reactions
it is now also used for those of a cellular basis. Allergy is considered any specific
adverse immune reaction. Coca and Cooke [
[2]
] defined atopy as a condition occurring in individuals having asthma, hay fever, or
eczema; a family history of allergy; and a reagenic antibody demonstrated by skin
testing. Through the years atopy has been defined in variety of ways. Regardless of
the definition used, the presence of a reagenic or IgE antibody has been central to
all definitions. Atopy is currently recognized as a specific adverse inflammatory
immune reaction involving IgE. Phenotypes associated with atopy are those conditions
resulting from an adverse immune reaction involving IgE, such as asthma, allergic
rhinitis, and eczema. Asthma, an adverse immune reaction resulting in chronic inflammation
in the lung, is characterized physiologically by airway reversibility and/or bronchial
hyperreactivity and symptomatically by coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
There are no specific biologic markers of allergy, atopy, or asthma. All are conditions
defined by consensus at the present time.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Footnotes
☆Supported by NHLBI grant No. U01HL9609 from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
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© 2002 Elsevier Science (USA). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
