Airway hyperresponsiveness, airway inflammation, and asthma

Measurement of airway responsiveness has changed our concepts of the pathogenesis and treatment of asthma. It has altered our understanding of the definition of asthma and brought us closer to defining it more precisely. It has illustrated that the clinical characteristics of asthma are secondary to a special type of airway inflammation and its relationship to the presence and degree of hyperresponsiveness. These issues are discussed in this article.