Genomic approaches to understanding asthma

Asthma is the most common chronic childhood disease in developed nations, a nd it is a complex disease that has high social and economic costs. Asthma and its associated intermediate phenotypes are under a substantial degree o f genetic control. The genetic aetiology of asthma offers a means of better understanding its pathogenesis and, thus, improving preventive strategies, diagnostic tools, and therapies. Considerable effort and expense have been expended in attempts to detect genetic loci contributing to asthma suscept ibility, and extensive candidate gene studies and a number of whole-genome screens have been undertaken. This article reviews the current state of kno wledge of the genetics of asthma, with a focus on genomic approaches to und erstanding allergic diseases.