World Asthma Day:
Empowering Asthma Education

Held on the first Tuesday of May each year, World Asthma Day is a health observance initiated by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA), aiming to enhance global awareness of asthma, a prevalent chronic respiratory disease, and to promote its prevention and management. Since its establishment, it has become a pivotal platform for advancing asthma research, education, and patient support. The theme of the event for 2024 is "Empowering Asthma Education."

Asthma, medically known as bronchial asthma, is a common chronic inflammatory disease primarily affecting the airways (bronchi). This inflammation causes the airways to become abnormally sensitive, prone to overreacting to various external stimuli such as pollen, dust mites, smoke, cold air, or exercise, leading to airway narrowing and consequent breathing difficulties. Characterized by recurrent episodes of wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and dyspnea, asthma symptoms can worsen particularly during nighttime and early morning.

The pathophysiology of asthma involves multiple cells and mediators, including eosinophils, T lymphocytes, smooth muscle cells, and airway epithelial cells, all contributing to chronic airway inflammation. Additionally, airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), a key feature of asthma, denotes the excessive constriction response of airways to typically harmless stimuli.

While there is no cure for asthma currently, symptoms can be managed with medications to improve patients' quality of life. Commonly used drugs fall into two categories: controller medications taken long-term to reduce airway inflammation, such as corticosteroids and anti-leukotrienes, and reliever medications for rapid symptom relief, like short-acting beta2 agonists.

Recent asthma research focuses on delving deeper into disease mechanisms and developing novel targeted therapies. A notable advance is the targeted treatment against thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), a crucial epithelium-derived allergic factor that plays a significant role in promoting Th2 immune responses. Inhibitors targeting TSLP have opened new avenues for asthma therapy. Another exciting development involves the revelation of the function of SIRT6, with recent studies demonstrating its regulation of IL-17A in asthma airway inflammation and remodeling, suggesting its potential as a new therapeutic target. The future of asthma research leans towards precision medicine, with a focus on understanding disease heterogeneity to develop safer and more effective targeted therapies.

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