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Asthma can affect how you move, sleep, and feel each day. Our team provides accurate diagnosis and personalized treatment to help you breathe with confidence and stay in control of your symptoms.
Asthma affects far more than breathing. Persistent coughing, daytime fatigue, sleep disruption, and activity limitations can significantly impact nearly every aspect of daily life. For many patients, it also means missed work or school and a constant effort to manage symptoms that feel unpredictable.
Dr. Brian Modena understands these challenges personally. As a lifelong asthma sufferer, he has dedicated his career to improving asthma care and conducting research that leads to better, more precise treatment options. At Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake, he focuses on accurate diagnosis, identifying underlying triggers, and creating individualized treatment plans grounded in objective data.
Dr. Modena has spent over a decade treating complex asthma cases and leading research efforts at major medical centers. His work spans the human microbiome, asthma genomics, and machine learning innovations that help predict and prevent severe disease. He continues to serve on national advisory boards and is actively involved in clinical trials at Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake.
With his depth of experience and commitment to advancing asthma science, patients receive care that is both compassionate and backed by the latest research. Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake is proud to help the community breathe easier, one patient at a time.
Getting the proper diagnosis begins with understanding your full story. At Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake, our team takes a comprehensive, data-driven approach to identifying asthma and the conditions that can mimic it. Breathing issues can stem from a wide range of causes, including Paradoxical Vocal Cord Dysfunction (PVCD), dysfunctional breathing, COPD, chronic bronchiectasis, or even previously undiagnosed cystic fibrosis. Determining what’s truly behind your symptoms requires careful evaluation.
Your visit begins with a thorough review of your medical history, symptoms, and past medical experiences. We look at your health from every angle—family background, early childhood illness, environmental exposures, and how you’ve responded to previous treatments. These details help us understand the patterns behind your breathing issues and guide us toward the most accurate and effective plan of care. At Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake, every diagnosis begins with listening and learning your full story.
The next step in getting the proper diagnosis is understanding what the data shows. At Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake, testing plays a crucial role in identifying what drives your breathing symptoms and how asthma may be affecting your overall lung health.
Allergy skin testing provides immediate insight into whether environmental triggers are contributing to your symptoms. Multiple positive reactions—for example, to cat dander and molds—can strengthen the likelihood of asthma. In children, the number and type of positive skin tests can also help predict whether asthma may persist into adulthood.
Breathing tests offer another essential layer of information. These studies evaluate lung function, airflow, and how well your lungs respond during normal and stressed conditions. They help determine whether airway inflammation or obstruction is present and whether long-term structural changes may be developing.
Additional tools, such as exhaled breath analysis, can measure airway inflammation and identify the type of asthma present. Blood work can identify systemic inflammation and provide a more complete picture of how asthma affects the body.
With the focus of modern medicine shifting toward prevention, our goal is to limit airway inflammation early to protect the lungs over time. At Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake, we complete testing as quickly as possible, often the same day, to ensure prompt answers and personalized care.
Specialist care ensures that your treatment is precise, up-to-date, and tailored to your individual biology, offering a clearer path toward improved breathing and overall health.
Asthma care has evolved dramatically in recent years. For decades, treatment relied almost entirely on inhaled steroids or oral medications like prednisone, paired with bronchodilators to open the airways. Today, the landscape is far more advanced. New monoclonal antibody therapies are designed to target specific inflammatory pathways, offering relief for patients whose symptoms were never well controlled with traditional medications. Choosing the right therapy requires expertise in immunology and a deep understanding of the mechanisms driving each patient’s asthma.
When symptoms persist despite inhaler use, guidance from a specialist is essential. At Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake, patients benefit from the expertise of Dr. Brian Modena and his dedicated team. Dr. Modena has spent more than a decade studying asthma across leading research institutions, publishing extensively and contributing to national conversations on asthma care. His ongoing work integrates machine learning, artificial intelligence, and genetic sequencing to better understand the roots of asthma and pursue innovative long-term solutions.
Determining whether you’re a good candidate for asthma testing begins with understanding the importance of these evaluations for accurate diagnosis and long-term lung health. Anyone older than six years of age is typically eligible for lung function testing, and most specialists agree it should be part of every asthma evaluation. These tests often reveal information that can change or refine a treatment plan, helping prevent the permanent lung damage that can occur when asthma goes untreated or undertreated.
Allergy skin testing is another key component of asthma assessment. It is a simple, fast procedure that can often be performed on the same day as your visit. Patients preparing for skin testing should discontinue taking antihistamines for at least six days prior to the test to ensure accurate results. Before your appointment, the team at Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake reviews any previous notes, testing, or imaging you’ve had. For this reason, it’s important to sign a medical release form and request that your previous providers fax your records to our office at 858-260-2977.
Asthma testing provides clarity, guides treatment, and protects your lung health for the future, making it a valuable step for anyone experiencing persistent breathing symptoms.
The first step is understanding whether your symptoms are truly caused by asthma or by another condition that can mimic it. At Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake, our team asks detailed questions to identify factors such as vocal cord dysfunction, bronchiectasis, or other medical issues that may resemble asthma. We also look for contributing conditions, such as GERD or chronic sinus inflammation, that may quietly exacerbate breathing problems. In some cases, simple lifestyle adjustments can significantly improve asthma control.
Your evaluation may include allergy skin testing to determine whether environmental triggers are contributing to your symptoms. Lung function testing is then used to measure how asthma is affecting airflow and inflammation in your lungs. Blood work is often added to identify systemic inflammation and provide a clearer picture of your overall respiratory health.
Once all testing is complete, your physician reviews the results with you in detail, explains what they mean, and answers any questions you may have. Through a shared decision-making process, you and your provider create a personalized treatment plan that aligns with your needs, goals, and preferences, helping you breathe easier with confidence.
Problem: Asthma is a chronic condition marked by persistent inflammation in the small airways of the lungs. When these breathing tubes become swollen or irritated over long periods of time, symptoms such as coughing, breathlessness, wheezing, and chest tightness can occur. Asthma can develop at any age, and its presentation varies widely from person to person, with multiple subtypes influenced by genetics, environment, and immune responses.
Treatment: Asthma management has evolved significantly in recent years. For decades, treatment relied on a familiar combination: rescue inhalers for quick relief and steroid inhalers for daily control. When symptoms escalated, patients often needed oral steroids like prednisone. Although effective in the short term, repeated steroid use comes with meaningful risks. Children may experience slowed bone growth, while adults can face complications such as weight gain, osteoporosis, diabetes, or higher vulnerability to infections.
Today, treatment options are far more targeted and far safer. Newer monoclonal antibody therapies, also known as biologics, are designed to precisely address specific inflammatory pathways in the lungs. These medications offer more effective symptom control with far fewer long-term side effects compared to steroids. Modern asthma care also emphasizes prevention—reducing inflammation early and consistently to protect the lungs from permanent structural changes that can occur when asthma remains uncontrolled for extended periods.
Dr. Brian Modena and his team have spent more than a decade advancing asthma research across several major medical centers. Their work spans a wide range of cutting-edge topics, including the human microbiome, asthma genetics, and the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence to better understand and predict disease. The team serves on national advisory boards and continues to lead multiple research studies and clinical trials at Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake.
Our practice is currently seeking volunteers for a clinical trial involving patients with asthma.
The NIMBLE clinical research study is enrolling participants 12 years of age and older who have been diagnosed with severe eosinophilic asthma and are currently benefiting from Nucala® or Fasenra®. The study is evaluating an investigational medication to determine whether it is as effective as these existing treatments in maintaining asthma control.
If you would like more information about participating in this clinical trial, please click the Contact Us button below.
Although asthma treatment can involve some trial and adjustment, patients at Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake often begin to see improvement within days to weeks once the right therapy is in place.
If you or your child is living with poorly controlled asthma and experiencing frequent flare-ups, it’s time to seek care from a physician who specializes in asthma diagnosis and treatment. At Modena Allergy & Asthma – Eastlake, Dr. Brian Modena and his team provide advanced, targeted therapies that reflect the breakthroughs in asthma care over the past five years. Modern treatments are more effective, more precise, and far safer than older steroid-heavy approaches.
Today’s focus is on preventing long-term lung damage and managing symptoms to prevent complications from arising. Taking action now can improve your quality of life today while protecting your lung health for years to come.
If your child often uses a rescue inhaler, needs oral steroids like prednisone recently, or struggles to breathe during play, it's time to consult an asthma expert. Dr. Modena and the team at Modena Health are here to help manage your child's asthma effectively.
As some children age, particularly boys during and after puberty, they may outgrow asthma. However, many do not, facing severe flare-ups that risk health and long-term lung function. Children with uncontrolled asthma need to undergo a thorough evaluation, including breathing tests, to manage their condition effectively.
