Asthma is ussually seen as a condition whose symptoms can be adequately controlled with the right medicines. Researchers point out that it is an intermittent disorder,characterized by temporary bouts of inflammation of the airways,which lead to typical sy

The reading and the lecture are both about the causes of asthma. The author of the reading provides various explanations for the causes of asthma. The lecturer challenges the claims made by the author. He is of the opinion that the explanations are faulty. To begin with, the author argues that asthma is an intermittent disorder, which is accompanied by wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. The article also mentions that after each asthma attack, the symptoms diminish and the airways are returned to normal condition. This specific argument is directly opposed by the lecturer. He is of the opinion that the airways in between the asthma attacks do not return to normal functioning. Moreover, he states that the airways permanently become narrow and the walls thicken forever. Secondly, the writer mentions that certain environmental conditions can act as triggers to asthmatics. In contrast, however, the lecturer mentions that certain environmental factors maybe the cause of the disease in many asthmatics. Furthermore, the lecturer argues that genetic factors can also play a vital role in the cause of asthma as revealed by a study of young asthmatic children. Finally, the author posits that during an asthma attack, the bronchial tubes and other smaller tubes become narrower and as a result, air cannot flow through the lungs easily. The lecturer rebuts the claim, by arguing that this remodeling of tubes can, in fact, be the cause of the disease. He goes to say that, a study conducted on young asthmatic children revealed that, their tubes were remodeled before they were born and hence, the remodeling of tubes is the fundamental cause of asthma rather than the consequence, as stated in the reading.