New insights from GINA 2019/2020—Focus on early anti-inflammatory therapy

Asthma has been recognized as an inflammatory disease, with chronic airway inflammation underlying bronchial hyperresponsiveness and bronchoconstriction [1, 2]. Several studies established the presence of increased numbers of inflammatory cells including eosinophils, dendritic cells, type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2), mast cells and lymphocytes in the lung tissue, bronchoalveolar lavage, and sputum from asthmatic patients [1‐7]. Airway inflammation increases at times of exacerbations and is even present in patients with mild asthma despite a relatively low burden of symptoms [8]. …