Clinical and genetic characteristics of treatment-resistant asthma

Therapy resistant asthma (TRA) is most difficult to treat and its course is least predictable. TRA remains least studied despite the fact that its many mechanisms have been detected. There is still no clear definition of TRA phenotype, and the terminology has not been widely used so far. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the role of pharmacogenetic factors in therapy with glucocorticosteroids and β2-agonists in TRA patients and work out criteria for predicting therapy resistance based on genetic markers. The paper presents the results of the studies which helped to identify the phenotype of TRA taking into account its pathogenetic and clinical heterogeneity, to determine predictors of the disease and establish uniform criteria for diagnosis taking into account genetic determinants.