CHARACTERIZATION OF SUBJECTS WITH SEVERE ASTHMA

该子项目是利用NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能从另一个NIH来源获得主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。所列机构为中心机构，不一定为研究者机构。在北美、欧洲和澳大利亚，哮喘影响大约8%的成年人和高达20%的儿童。这些患者中的大多数患有轻度至中度疾病，可以通过吸入性皮质类固醇和吸入性短效B-肾上腺素能激动剂控制。然而，据估计，约5%至10%的哮喘患者患有对常规治疗方式（包括全身性皮质类固醇）无反应的严重疾病。这组患者是哮喘患者的重要子集。例如，他们的生活方式受到最大的损害，他们的疾病对保健系统产生深远的影响，因为他们使用了不成比例的保健费用。此外，少数民族和妇女也分担这一负担。最后，对哮喘的这一方面了解甚少，因此对新疗法存在重大限制。 NIH/NHLBI资助了一个由8名研究人员组成的小组，一个数据协调中心（DCC）和一个数据安全监测委员会（DSMB），缩写为SARP（严重哮喘研究计划）。 我们认为，在某些患者中，严重哮喘可能是由病毒、肺炎支原体或肺炎衣原体的持续呼吸道感染引起的，并且这在严重疾病中更常见。为了评估这一假设，将确定重度哮喘人群，并与轻度至中度哮喘和正常对照进行比较。这些研究的主要目的是确定持续性呼吸道感染的证据是否与重度哮喘相关，并导致更大的气流限制。

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Asthma affects approximately 8% of the adult population and up to 20% of children in North America, Europe, and Australia. The majority of these patients have mild-to-moderate disease, which can be controlled with inhaled corticosteroids and an inhaled short acting B-adrenergic agonist. It is, however, estimated that about 5% to 10% of asthma patients have severe disease that does not respond to usual treatment modalities, including systemic corticosteroids. This group of patients is an important subset of asthma patients. For example, they suffer the greatest impairment of their lifestyle, and their disease has a profound impact on the health-care system as they use a disproportional amount of health-care costs. Furthermore minorities and women share this burden. Finally, this aspect of asthma is poorly understood, and thus there are major limitations to new therapeutics. The NIH/NHLBI has funded a group of 8 investigators, a Data Coordinating Center (DCC), and a Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) under the Acronym SARP (Severe Asthma Research Program). We believe that severe asthma may be caused, in some patients, by a persistent respiratory infections with viruses, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, or Chlamydia pneumoniae, and that this will be more common in severe disease. To evaluate this hypothesis, a severe asthma population will be identified and compared to mild-to-moderate asthma and normal controls. The primary objective of these studies will be to determine whether evidence of a persistent respiratory infections is associated with severe asthma and results in greater limitation in airflow.