The Measuring Inhaled Corticosteroid Efficacy (MICE) pilot study was approved by the Protocol Review Committee in August 1998. MICE used doses of inhaled corticosteroid for the full MICE protocol as derived from DICE, which induced minimal cortisol suppression (highest deliverable dose that caused less than 5% cortisol suppression), 20% to 30% cortisol suppression, and 40% to 60% cortisol suppression. The intent was to determine if different inhaled corticosteroids, which had equisystemic effects, had differential salutary therapeutic effects in chronic asthma, or if therapeutic efficacy paralleled systemic effects. MICE was a 24-week, randomized, open-label, prospective, multi-center study examining the effect of inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) and fluticasone propionate (FP) both with an Opti-Chamber spacer device. The inhaled corticosteroids were administered to 30 patients in doses of increasing systemic effect to examine the corresponding effects on pulmonary function, bronchial hyper-responsiveness, asthma control, and resolution of airway inflammation in patients with persistent asthma. The intent was to compare the estimates of systemic effect for BDP and FP, derived from the DICE pilot study in which BDP and FP were administered in 1-week intervals, to that which occurred when BDP and FP doses were administered over 3- to 6-six week intervals with incremental doses. MICE also explored which efficacy/systemic relationships, if any, suggested that there may be a difference between the two prototype inhaled corticosteroids, BDP and FP. Recruitment was completed in the spring of 2000. Results have been published.