This text sums up the mechanistic basis, current status and future prospects of steroid inhalation as the cornerstone of prophylactic asthma therapy. It identifies its kinetic basis - especially the essential airway selectivitiy - and includes a historical account of inhaled glucocorticoid development.

This reference collects the latest studies on the development, diagnosis, and treatment of childhood asthma and offers current perspectives on new technologies that will shape the management of pediatric asthma in the forthcoming decade-illustrating how advances in pulmonary function measurement, inflammatory markers, imaging, and pharmacogenetics will enhance the diagnosis and monitoring of asthma in years to come.