Peter J. Barnes

TL;DR: In patients with COPD and severe asthma and in asthmatic patients who smoke HDAC2 is markedly reduced in activity and expression as a result of oxidative/nitrative stress so that inflammation becomes resistant to the anti‐inflammatory actions of corticosteroids, and theophylline, by activating HDAC, may reverse this cortiosteroid resistance.

TL;DR: The assessment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease has been refined to separate the spirometric assessment from symptom evaluation, and the concept of de‐escalation of therapy is introduced in the treatment assessment scheme.

TL;DR: Low dose inhaled budesonide alone reduced severe exacerbations and improved asthma control, and in patients already receiving inhaled corticosteroid, adding formoterol was more effective than doubling the cortiosteroid dose.

TL;DR: In asthma, damage to airway epithelium, possibly caused by eosinophil products, exposes C-fibre afferent nerve endings and Stimulation of these endings by inflammatory mediators may result in an axon (local) reflex, which could account for at least some of the pathophysiology of asthma and this concept might lead to new strategies for treatment.