Respiratory Infections in Allergy and Asthma

Introduction: overview on asthma and the role of the airway epithelium, Stephen T. Holgate. Epidemiology; microbiology and epidemiology of upper respiratory tract infections, Steven Myint; epidemiology and diagnosis of virus-induced asthmaexacerbations, Philip K. Pattemore; role of viral infection in the inception of asthma, Fernando D. Martinez; respiratory viruses - do they protect from or induce asthma, Patrick Mallia and Sebastian L. Johnston; immunology and mechanisms of disease;respiratory virus infection of the lower airways and the induction of acute asthma exacerbations, Stelios Psarras and Nikolaos G. Papadopoulos; consequences of respiratory viral infection in airway epithelial cells, Susanne Becker and Frederick Henderson;cytokine network in virus infections and asthma, Terry L. Noah; molecular mechanisms of respiratory virus-induced inflammation, Alberto Papi, Gaetano Caramori, Cinzia M. Bellettato, Ian Adcock, and Sebastian L. Johnston; nitric oxide and otherinflammatory mediators, Richard B.R. Muijsers, Frans P. Nijkamp, and Gert Folkerts; effects of virus infection on airway neural control, Richard W. Costello; models of virus infection and virus-induced asthma; animal models of viral respiratoryinfections, Rosemary J. Boynton and Peter J.M. Openshaw; modulation of immune responses to virus infection in the lung, Tracy Hussell, Ian Humphreys, and Gerhard Walzl; animal models of allergen and virus-induced asthma Jurgen Schwarze and Erwin W.Gelfand. (Part contents).