Genetics of asthma: from chicken soup to Napoleon to Toronto

For a number of reasons, genetics has always been thought to be involved in asthma. It is only now, with several approaches and tools to make population genetic studies possible, that studies are intensified. Using both the candidate gene and the positional cloning approaches, there is evidence that predisposing factors, if not the disease itself, are genetically transferred. In addition, studies on inbred island populations have further demonstrated a high probability of a genetically transferable link. If the genes can be identified, diagnostic tests or predictions regarding the response to specific therapy are advances that would follow.