[Bronchial asthma and obesity: common mechanisms]

The prevalence of bronchial asthma and obesity has grown in the recent decades. The mechanisms of these pathologies remain unclear despite a number of publications on the relationship between the two diseases. Analysis of the association of BA with obesity should take into account that both diseases develop in young children undergoing effects of breast milk and specific nutrients, intestinal colonization pattern (neonatal and early childhood), body mass at birth and it growth rate, sedentary lifestyle, and adipokine level in early ontogenesis. The available data suggest that the phenotype of BA associated with obesity is characterized by a number of clear-cut peculiarities (more severe clinical manifestations with frequent exacerbaions and impaired control of the disease). Moreover; such patients show no signs of cellular inflammation. There are several distinct mechanisms characterizing obesity-associated BA, viz. co-morbid conditions such as gastroduodenal reflux disease, sleep apnea, obesity-associated systemic inflammation (elevated cytokine (IL-6, TNF-alpha) levels), oxidative stress, production of obesity hormones (leptin. adiponektin, resistin). Thus, BA and obesity have some common potential mechanisms, including genetic factors, systemic inflammation, mechanical factors, and concomitant diseases. Understanding the common mechanisms of these diseases will promote the development of new therapeutic strategies.