Viral Disease, Air Pollutants, Nanoparticles, and Asthma

Health care providers who treat patients with respiratory disease are often asked by their patients, “What caused my asthma? And what causes my asthma suddenly to become worse?” These questions have always been difficult to answer, and moving directly to a discussion of the management of asthma is a much easier road to take. In recent years, though, enough information has accumulated about the causes of asthma that one can weave a story containing useful advice that may help patients participate in the management of their disease. And there are also recent studies that can provide answers to the questions posed by physicians who have watched in puzzlement as their previously well-controlled asthma patients have spiraled rapidly out of control. This story has been growing increasingly complex, with an ever-expanding cast of players that sometimes creates a tangled web of interactions.