[Chronic asthma: current policy and therapeutic possibilities in the future]

Asthma is a chronic disease with an important and increasing prevalence. The objective of the treatment of asthma is control of the disease. For most patients with chronic asthma this means the regular use of controller medication. Controller medication for asthma includes glucocorticosteroids, long acting beta 2-agonists, SR-theophylline en antileukotrienes. Inhaled glucocorticosteroids are the preferred baseline treatment for most patients with chronic asthma. The optimal treatment for chronic asthma is dependent of the severity of the disease. Chronic asthma is classified in four steps of increasing severity: intermittent, mild, moderate and severe. The most appropriate treatment for these steps is outlined. Many new drugs for the treatment of asthma are currently in development. They either focus on recently discovered pathogenic mechanisms or try to improve existing anti-asthma drugs. There is the distinct hope that cure of asthma might become an achievable goal.