Abstract

A BRIEF REVIEW ON ‘ASTHMA’

Deborah Yukti Tandi, Prerana Sahu*, Rajesh Kumar Nema, Harish Sharma, Gyanesh Kumar Sahu

ABSTRACT

‘Asthma’ is derived from the Greek root meaning ‘gasp for breath’. The term originally did not define a disease, but was employed to describe respiratory symptoms of a variety of pulmonary conditions. Over the centuries, several models have been proposed to understand the pathophysiologic abnormalities of asthma. By the beginning of the 20th century, asthma was seen to be a unique illness characterized by ‘spasmodic afflictions of the bronchial tubes’. Consistent with the nature of asthma as a complex disease, the models for asthma pathogenesis have become increasingly complex. Research has moved from antiquated ideas to a descriptive functional approach to one that relies on pathophysiology in cellular and molecular biology, immunology, microbiology and genetics/genomics.

Keywords: Gasp, pulmonary, spasmodic, pathogenesis, genomics.