Allergy and airway hyperresponsiveness

Allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness is a major cause of morbidity in asthmatic patients, and has been suggested to be the cause of perennial asthma in some patients. Allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness probably occurs as a consequence of an inflammatory response in the airways initiated by the inhalation of allergen. The relative importance of specific inflammatory cells and mediators in causing airway hyperresponsiveness is not …