Guest guest Posted February 21, 2011 Report Share Posted February 21, 2011 Welcome back ASY, always appreciate the absrtacts you forward. Here another extract of some research findings: http://www2.le.ac.uk/news/blog/2010-archive/december/a-respiratory-story-mould-t\ hat-causes-asthma-grows-inside-asthma-patients-lungs Regards > > Asthma Tied to Bacterial Communities in the Airway > ScienceDaily (Feb. 19, 2011) — Asthma may have a surprising > relationship with the composition of the species of bacteria that > inhabit bronchial airways, a finding that could suggest new treatment or > even potential cures for the common inflammatory disease, according to a > new UCSF-led study. > > Using new detection methods, researchers learned that the diversity of > microbes inside the respiratory tract is far vaster than previously > suspected -- creating a complex and inter-connected microbial > neighborhood that appears to be associated with asthma, and akin to what > has also been found in inflammatory bowel disease, vaginitis, > periodontitis, and possibly even obesity. > > Contrary to popular belief, the scientists also learned that the airways > are not necessarily entirely sterile environments, even in healthy > people, while the airways of asthmatics are infected by a richer, more > complex collection of bacteria. These findings could improve > understanding of the biology of asthma, and potentially lead to new and > much-needed therapies. > > " People thought that asthma was caused by inhalation of allergens but > this study shows that it may be more complicated than that -- asthma may > involve colonization of the airways by multiple bacteria,'' said study > co-author Homer Boushey, MD, a UCSF professor of medicine in the > division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. > > The study is published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical > Immunology. > > Asthma is one of the most common diseases in the world, with > approximately 300 million asthmatics globally, including 24 million in > the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The > disease has been on the rise for the last 60 years. > > " It has gone from 3 percent of the population to slightly more than 8 > percent of the population in the U.S.,'' said Boushey. " It is most > prevalent in western, developed nations -- and we don't know why.'' > > In recent years, scientists began studying communities of mixed-species > microorganisms (microbiome) found in both diseased and healthy people to > better understand their role in a variety of diseases. But research on > the microbiome in respiratory disease is relatively uncharted terrain. > > " We know fairly little about the diversity, complexity and collective > function of bacteria living in the respiratory tract, and how they might > contribute to diseases like asthma,'' said J. Huang, MD, the > paper's first author. She is a research fellow and clinical instructor > in the UCSF Pulmonary Division. > > " Traditionally, the airways have been thought to be sterile. However, > this study suggests this is not the case. Certain asthma patients who > require inhaled corticosteroid therapy possess a great abundance of > bacteria compared to healthy individuals, and have an increased relative > abundance of specific organisms that is correlated with greater > sensitivity of their airways.'' > > In their three-year pilot project, the scientists collected samples from > the airway linings of 65 adults with mild to moderate asthma and 10 > healthy subjects. Then, using a tool that can identify approximately > 8,500 distinct groups of bacteria in a single assay, the scientists > profiled the organisms present in each sample to look for relationships > between bacterial community composition and clinical characteristics of > the patients' asthma. > > The researchers found that bronchial airway samples from asthmatic > patients contained far more bacteria than samples from healthy patients. > The scientists also found greater bacterial diversity in the asthmatic > patients who had the most hyper-responsive or sensitive airways (a > feature of asthma). > > " People have viewed asthma as a misdirected immune reaction to > environmental exposures, but few have thought of it in the context of > airway microbiota composition,'' said senior author Lynch, PhD, an > assistant professor of medicine and director of the UCSF Colitis and > Crohn's Disease Microbiome Research Core in the division of > gastroenterology. > > " We took an ecological approach, considering the bacteria in the context > of their microbial neighborhoods to identify relationships between > characteristics of these communities and features of the > disease…This new approach will help us to better understand the > microbiota-host relationships that define human health.'' > > The authors say that further studies are needed to determine how these > specific bacteria identified in the study may influence the cause and > development of asthma. > > ### > > The study was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute > and by the Strategic Asthma Basic Research Center at UCSF, supported by > the Sandler Family Foundation. Huang was funded by a National Institutes > of Health grant and by a UC Tobacco-related Disease Research Program > award; Lynch receives research support from the NIH; Boushey is an > ad-hoc consultant for KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is on the advisory > committee for Pharmaxis, is on ad-hoc advisory committees for > GlaxoKline and Merck, and receives research support from > GlaxoKline. > > UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide > through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the > life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. > > Follow UCSF on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ucsf > <http://twitter.com/ucsf> > Email or share this story: > <http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250 & winname=addthis & pub=scienceda\ > ily & source=tbx-250 & lng=fr-fr & s=facebook & url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedail\ > y.com%2Freleases%2F2011%2F02%2F110217151457.htm & title=Asthma%20tied%20to\ > %20bacterial%20communities%20in%20the%20airway & ate=AT-sciencedaily/-/fs-\ > 0/4d616ef3337cbc8b/1 & CXNID=2000001.5215456080540439074NXC & tt=0> | More > <http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250 & pub=sciencedaily> > Story Source: > The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily > staff) from materials provided by University of California - San > Francisco <http://www.ucsf.edu> , via EurekAlert! > <http://www.eurekalert.org> , a service of AAAS. > Journal Reference: > > 1. J. Huang, Craig E. , Eoin L. Brodie, Todd Z. > DeSantis, Marshall S. Baek, Jane Liu, Tanja Woyke, Allgaier, Jim > Bristow, Jeanine P. Wiener-Kronish. Airway microbiota and bronchial > hyperresponsiveness in patients with suboptimally controlled asthma. > Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 2011; 127 (2): 372 DOI: > 10.1016/j.jaci.2010.10.048 > <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaci.2010.10.048> > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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