['To report on recent studies on the effect of inhaled corticosteroids on pulmonary function in young children with asthma.', 'Inhaled corticosteroids are considered the most effective treatment for persistent asthma in children. Appropriate control of childhood asthma may prevent more serious disease or irreversible obstruction in later years. While some authors have described an improvement with the use of inhaled corticosteroids in young children, others found no clinical or functional benefit. Various studies have shown that inhaled corticosteroids ameliorate clinical outcomes, and recently a study demonstrated improvement in pulmonary function in young children with asthma. The use of different study designs may explain the lack of consistent results and disagreement regarding the efficacy of inhaled corticosteroids in these patients.'] Does treatment with inhaled corticosteroids improve pulmonary function in children under 2 years old with risk factors for asthma?