In this study we found that seven weeks of low dose ICS treatment in adults with mild to moderate asthma, who were corticosteroid free for over 2 months, is as effective in controlling airway inflammation as high dose therapy, measured by constitutive mRNA expression of GM-CSF, TNF-α and constitutive or LPS induced IL-1ra mRNA and protein in BAL. This evidence concerns the gene TNF and asthma.