UTMB Research on Severe Asthma (UROSA) Study

To identify and understand biologic aspects of severe asthma compared to subjects with mild to moderate asthma and subjects without asthma (normal or healthy volunteers).

It has been shown that severe asthma differs from milder asthma in its pathophysiology; in particular we are interested in examining why patients with severe asthma have disease that is resistant to corticosteroids. While we will be studying patients with severe asthma, we also need to study subjects to act as controls. To this end we will recruit subjects into the following groups: Normal volunteers; Mild asthmatics not taking inhaled corticosteroids; Mild to moderate asthmatics requiring and using inhaled corticosteroids and Severe asthmatics. Subjects between the ages of 18 and 65 will be enrolled in this study. We aim to recruit enough subjects such that 120 male and female participants (30 in each of the above groups) will complete the bronchoscopy.