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Updated: Jun 13, 2026
08:05
Murine Model of Allergen Induced Asthma
Published on: May 14, 2012
Asthma phenotypes in adults and clinical implications
Merritt L Fajt1, Sally E Wenzel
1Division of Pulmonary Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Asthma Institute, School of Medicine, UPMC Montefiore, NW 931 Montefiore, 3459 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. merritt.fajt@chp.edu
Expert Review of Respiratory Medicine
|May 19, 2010
Summary
Asthma is a complex, heterogeneous disease with various phenotypes identified through clinical and molecular approaches. Definitive asthma phenotype classification awaits the discovery of specific biological markers for precise diagnosis and treatment.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonology
- Immunology
- Genetics
Background:
- Asthma is increasingly recognized as a heterogeneous disease.
- Clinical factors like age, symptoms, and inflammation levels suggest distinct asthma phenotypes.
- Previous phenotype identification methods were subjective and clinician-based.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore unbiased approaches for identifying asthma phenotypes.
- To validate and expand upon existing clinical concepts of asthma heterogeneity.
- To investigate the role of molecular and statistical tools in phenotype discovery.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of clinical factors (age, symptoms, triggers, inflammation).
- Application of unbiased molecular and statistical methodologies.
- Comparison of results from biased and unbiased approaches.
Main Results:
- Both biased and unbiased methods reveal numerous overlapping asthma phenotypes.
- Unbiased approaches using molecular and statistical tools support and broaden clinical observations.
- Early findings indicate significant heterogeneity within the asthma population.
Conclusions:
- Asthma exhibits considerable heterogeneity, classifiable into various phenotypes.
- Unbiased approaches offer a more objective method for asthma phenotype identification.
- Further research is needed to identify specific biomarkers for definitive asthma phenotype classification.
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