Michel Aubier is a professor of pneumology at Denis-Diderot-Paris-VII University and Chief of Pneumology at Hôpital Bichat, Paris. He is currently carrying out research at INSERM, the French health and biomedical institution, on chronic obstructive broncho-pneumopathologies and on the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for bronchial remodelling in severe asthma.

Asthma is a common disorder, afflicting 5 to 6% of the population in France alone. Among children, its prevalence is even higher. It is reportedly the major chronic childhood disease (one out of seven children in France suffers from asthma). Asthma is also frequent among young adults (15%).
This disease is potentially very serious: it kills about 1,200 people every year in France. For this reason an early diagnosis, followed by appropriate care and treatment, is absolutely necessary.
Although asthma is a chronic, incurable disease — it is possible to curb it and to learn to live with it.

• Clear, complete, precise information for patients.
• Straightforward advice on what to do to prevent an asthma attack — or, failing prevention, to quickly limit its magnitude.
• Included here is a chapter on childhood asthma and its specific problems: how it affects schoolwork, sports, and social and family life.
• In France alone, 5 to 6% of the population suffers from asthma.