Asthma

In the US, 26.8 million people have asthma, including 4.5 million children. Asthma accounts for millions of emergency department visits, tens of billions in healthcare costs and thousands of missed school days each year. The American Lung Association’s Promoting Asthma-Friendly Environments through Partnerships and Collaborations brings together a network of programs to help children better manage their asthma.

Effective asthma management requires more than medication alone. Education, self-management support, and early intervention are essential to helping patients achieve better symptom control and improved quality of life. To address these needs, the American Lung Association has developed a range of evidence-based asthma programs for both adults and children, designed to build practical skills, improve adherence, and support long-term disease management across home, school, and community settings.

Asthma and COPD are common airway diseases with distinct underlying mechanisms, yet in everyday practice many patients present with features of both. Differentiating between asthma-predominant and COPD-predominant disease is an important clinical challenge, with significant implications for diagnosis, treatment selection, and long-term outcomes. In this Q&A, Prof. Felix Herth discusses how clinicians can approach patients with overlapping features of asthma and COPD, including the role of clinical history, lung function testing, biomarkers, imaging, treatment selection, and the importance of reassessing response to therapy over time.

Obesity is increasingly recognized as an important contributor to asthma severity, with both mechanical and inflammatory mechanisms linked to worse symptoms and more frequent exacerbations. Recently, GLP-1 receptor agonists have emerged as important therapies for obesity management, with growing interest in their potential benefits beyond weight reduction. In this Q&A, touchRESPIRATORY spoke with Dr Ruchi Patel about the impact of obesity on asthma, the emerging evidence linking GLP-1 receptor agonists with reduced exacerbations, and the key findings and clinical implications of her recent research.

In this year-end review, we are pleased to share personal highlights from members of the touchRESPIRATORY Editorial Board and this year's Future Leaders cohort, whose perspectives offer a window into the innovations that have most influenced clinical practice and research over the past 12 months. Their reflections capture not only the momentum of 2025, but also the promise of what lies ahead as the field continues to evolve.

The 2025 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI; November 6−10, Orlando, Florida, USA) annual meeting showcased emerging therapies and real-world insights across eosinophilic disorders, atopic disease, chronic respiratory conditions, and allergic rhinitis. From late-breaking clinical trial results to observational data, the conference highlighted advances in convenient, effective, and targeted therapies for patients, as well as strategies to optimize long-term disease management.

Watch short presentations and panel discussion with leading respiratory experts, who'll discuss clinical remission as an ambitious but achievable treatment goal for patients with asthma, and how to implement and achieve this goal in routine clinical practice.

The ERS Congress 2025 in Amsterdam showcased the latest advances in respiratory medicine, featuring cutting-edge research, interactive workshops, and sessions across 14 specialist assemblies. Highlights included live endoscopy demonstrations, updates on lung cancer projects, and innovative programmes for early career professionals. This year’s congress underscored global collaboration and innovation in respiratory health. touchRESPIRATORY were delighted to speak with leading experts at ERS 2025, sharing insights on some of the congress’s key presentations and breakthroughs in respiratory medicine.

Extreme weather and air pollution can pose serious risks for people living with asthma and COPD. In this interview, Dr Tugce Karamustafalioglu discusses her award-winning study on how heatwaves and poor air quality worsen symptoms, reduce quality of life, and increase exacerbations, while offering practical advice for protecting vulnerable patients.