Use of sulphonyldihydropyridines as medicaments for the treatment of asthma

A method of treating a patient suffering from asthma which comprises administering to such patient an asthma-relieving amount of a 5-sulphonyl-1,4-dihydropyridine of the formula in which R1 is aryl having 6 or 10 C atoms, optionally substituted by 1 to 3 identical or different substituents from the group: halogen, cyano, nitro, trifluoromethyl, trifluoromethoxy, alkoxycarbonyl (up to 4 C atoms), carboxyl, alkoxy (up to 4 C atoms) or straight-chain or branched alkyl having up to 4 C atoms, or is heteroaryl, R2 is straight-chain, branched or cyclic, saturated or unsaturated alkyl having up to 7 C atoms, which can be interrupted in the chain by 1 or 2 oxygen and/or sulphur atoms, and which is optionally substituted by halogen, nitro, cyano, carboxyl, alkoxycarbonyl (up to 4 C atoms), aryl (6 or 10 C atoms), or an amino group, it being possible for the amino group to carry 1 or 2 identical or different substituents from the group comprising alkyl (up to 4 C atoms), aryl (6 to 10 C atoms) or alkaryl (7 to 10 C atoms), R3 is aryl (6 to 10 C atoms) which can optionally be substituted by 1 to 3 identical or different substituents from the group: halogen, cyano, nitro, trifluoromethyl, trifluoromethoxy, alkoxy (up to 4 C atoms), or dialkylamino, or is straight-chain, branched or cyclic alkyl having up to 8 C atoms, which can optionally be substituted by cyano, halogen or nitro. Some of the compounds are known.