Imaging Study of the Lungs During an Allergic Asthma Attack

Asthma is a disease of rapidly increasing incidence that already affects more than 17 million people in the United States alone. It has long been known that areas of severely reduced airflow occur in asthma and contribute significantly to the impairment of gas exchange in this disease. However, the extent to which local blood flow changes during an asthmatic attack is unclear. The purpose of this study is using Positron Emission Tomography - Computed Tomography imaging to evaluate how the blood flow changes in the lungs during an asthma attack induced by allergens.