Evaluation of functional, autonomic and inlammatory outcomes in children with asthma Evelim Leal de Freitas Dantas Gomes, Dirceu Costa Evelim Leal de Freitas Dantas Gomes, Rehabilitation Sciences, Physical Therapy Course, University Nove de Julho, São Paulo 01504-001, Brazil Dirceu Costa, Postgraduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, University Nove de Julho, São Paulo 01504-001, Brazil Author contributions: Both authors have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting of the manuscript, revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content and inal approval of the version to be published. Conlict-of-interest: The authors state that there is no conlict of interest in this study. Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Correspondence to: Dirceu Costa, PhD, Professor, LARESP, Postgraduate Program in Rehabilitation Sciences, University Nove de Julho, Mestrado e doutorado em Ciências da Reabilitação, Rua Vergueiro, 235/249, 2SS, São Paulo 01504-001, Brazil. dcosta@uninove.br Telephone: +55-11-33859241 Fax: +55-11-33859241 Received: July 12, 2014 Peer-review started: July 13, 2014 First decision: September 30, 2014 Revised: December 6, 2014 Accepted: December 18, 2014 Article in press: December 19, 2014 Published online: March 16, 2015 Abstract Asthma is common in childhood. This respiratory disease is characterized by persistent inflammation of the airways even when the child is not in the throes of an attack. Chronic inflammation is caused by an imbalance between pro-inflammatory and anti- inflammatory mechanisms as well as autonomic dysfunction, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis and control of this condition. The impact of these physiopathological aspects leads to inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle, which exerts an influence on functional capacity and control of the disease. The main objective of non-pharmacological therapy is the clinical control of asthma and the minimization of airway obstruction and hyperinlation during an attack. These factors can be controlled with noninvasive ventilation. The aim or the present review was to describe important neural, inlammatory and functional mechanisms that affect children with asthma. Key words: Asthma; Child; Continuous positive airway pressure; Noninvasive ventilation; Autonomic nervous system; Functional capacity; Inlammatory mechanisms; Evaluation © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved. Core tip: The recurring nature of asthma is related to the clinical control of the disease. Neural and inlammatory mechanisms interfere with this clinical control and affect functional capacity. While the magnitude of an asthma attack cannot be controlled, its clinical impact can be minimized with the use of noninvasive ventilation. Moreover, functional capacity and inflammation can be improved with physical exercise. de Freitas Dantas Gomes EL, Costa D. Evaluation of functional, autonomic and inlammatory outcomes in children with asthma. World J Clin Cases 2015; 3(3): 301-309 Available from: URL: http://www.wjgnet.com/2307-8960/full/v3/i3/301.htm DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12998/wjcc.v3.i3.301 MINIREVIEWS Submit a Manuscript: http://www.wjgnet.com/esps/ Help Desk: http://www.wjgnet.com/esps/helpdesk.aspx DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v3.i3.301 World J Clin Cases 2015 March 16; 3(3): 301-309 ISSN 2307-8960 (online) © 2015 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved. World Journal of Clinical Cases W JC C March 16, 2015|Volume 3|Issue 3| WJCC|www.wjgnet.com 301