Possible root cause of asthma found at Cardiff University: The study appeared in the journal Science Translational Medicine, revealed that a drug originally designed to treat the bone disease osteoporosis could lead to new therapy for asthma. Asthma is a common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction and bronchospasm. Asthma is thought to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
The cause of asthma is thought to be a combination of genetics and the environment. The presence of pollutants, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ozone, cold temperatures, and high humidity can all trigger asthma in individuals who are susceptible. However, many people are unaware that asthma can also be caused by poor indoor air quality, not just outdoor pollution. For instance, if the air conditioning units are not maintained properly or tuned up at regular intervals with the help of HVAC professionals, then they can become the breeding ground for air contaminants like mold spores. This can further increase the chances of being vulnerable to allergens. That is why it is prudent that people maintain their air conditioners at all costs or get a new air conditioning installation done if the old one seems to be beyond repair.
That said, common symptoms of asthama include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath. In 2011, 235–300 million people globally were diagnosed with asthma, and it caused 250,000 deaths.
Recent Research:
Researchers have found that a protein could be at the root of the condition.They found a protein called calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) plays an important role in causing asthma. They used mouse models of asthma and human airway tissue from asthmatic and non-asthmatic people to reach the findings.The research paper highlights the effectiveness of a class of drugs known as calcilytics in manipulating CaSR to reverse all symptoms associated with the condition.
“If we can prove that calcilytics are safe when administered directly to the lung in people, then in five years we could be in a position to treat patients and also potentially stop asthma from happening in the first place,” said principal investigator professor Daniela Riccardi from Cardiff University School of Biosciences in Britain. further he noted “For the first time, we have found a link between airways inflammation, which can be caused by environmental triggers — such as allergens, cigarette smoke and car fumes — and airways twitchiness in allergic asthma.
Our paper shows how these triggers release chemicals that activate CaSR in airway tissue and drive asthma symptoms like airway twitchiness, inflammation, and narrowing Using calcilytics, nebulised directly into the lungs, we show that it is possible to deactivate CaSR and prevent all of these symptoms.
