SELECTED ARTICLES FROM THE RECENT LITERATURE 2007 September 7, 2007 Duration of asthma and lung function in non-smoking adults Summary Background - It was formerly considered that long-term persistent asthma (PA) did not lead to irreversible decreases in pulmonary function (PF), provided that the patient was not a chronic smoker and did not have other pulmonary disorders. Findings - Rivera et al of the Hospital Virgen del Camino in Pamplona, Spain compared PF in non-smoker asthmatics with PA of varying duration but not significant differences in clinical symptomatology. After a short course of prednisone therapy, the FEV-1 and FEV-1/FVC ratios were significantly higher in those with PA of less than 14 years duration than in those with longer duration asthma. The authors concluded that slow progressive airways remodeling occurred in long duration PA leading to decreased PF even in the absence of smoking or complicating pulmonary problems. Reference J Investig Allergol Clin Immunol 2007;17:236-41 Editor's Comments These findings are not particularly surprising in face of recent findings by other groups. However, I am not sure that the authors took into adequate account the effect of the older age (of those with longer duration asthma) on PF.   © Copyright 1997-2007 American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology All rights reserved