One of the characteristics of asthma that is least understood is the excessive contraction of the airway muscle in response to minor stimuli. An understanding of this problem is being gained by the study of animals with asthma-like diseases. Dogs with a spontaneously occurring asthma-like disease, sheep with an allergy to parasites, horses that develop airway obstruction in response to the dusts in hay, and a variety of smaller mammals are all contributing to the understanding of diseases of the air passages such as asthma. They are revealing how the different factors in inflammation interact with nerves to cause the difficult breathing encountered by asthmatics. In addition, these mammals are providing vital knowledge about animal lung diseases.
Asthmatics rely on drugs to prevent or reverse their disease.
Many of these drugs have potent side effects on the heart and other organs. Animal models and animal research are essential to sort out the interactions of all the factors involved in asthma. When these are better understood, new medications will become available with fewer side effects. These medications will restore a normal life to thousands of people whose activity is limited by their disease, and will also contribute to the relief of suffering in animals with asthma-like diseases. We hope that likeminded citizens will join us in working for rational public policy that assures the continued appropriate use of animals in the course of good science.