Asthma Eosinophil Disease, Mast Cell Disease, or Both.docVIP

ORIGINAL ARTICLE Asthma:EosinophilDisease,MastCellDisease,orBoth? PeterBradding,DM,FRCP Althoughthereismuchcircumstantialevidenceimplicatingeosinophilsasmajororchestratorsinthepathophysiologyofasthma, recentstudieshavecastdoubtontheirimportance.Notonlydoesanti-interleukin-5treatmentnotalterthecourseofthedisease,but somepatientswithasthmadonothaveeosinophilsintheirairways,whereaspatientswitheosinophilicbronchitisexhibitaflorid tissue eosinophilia but do not have asthma. In contrast, mast cells are found in all airways and localize specifically to key tissue structuressuchasthesubmucosalglands