Fw: Antibiotics for Asthma

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Hi Everyone :-)

Here's an article that you might find interesting........

--Connie

http://www.eurekalert.org/releases/ns-ibr060601.html

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: 6 JUNE 2001 AT 14:00 ET US

Contact: Claire Bowles

claire.bowles@...

0-20-7331-2751

New Scientist

Antibiotics for asthma

BACTERIA might be to blame for many cases of asthma. Researchers in Finland and

the US have found evidence that a bacterial protein can trigger the disease,

while another American study has shown antibiotics can help sufferers.

Everything from pollution to excessive hygiene has been blamed for the dramatic

rise in asthma around the world. But a growing number of studies suggest that

Chlamydia pneumoniae, a common cause of lung infections, is involved in at least

some cases.

There is already evidence that diseases such as atherosclerosis are triggered by

bacteria. One theory is that the bugs' " heat shock proteins " -which protect cells

from various stresses-trigger an autoimmune reaction against human heat shock

proteins, which are very similar (New Scientist, 31 March, p 18).

So Maija Leinonen of the National Public Health Institute in Oulu, Finland, and

her colleagues looked for antibodies to C. pneumoniae heat shock protein 60 in

blood samples from 24 asthmatics, 17 people with bronchitis and 45 healthy

controls. In the latest issue of the European Respiratory Journal, they report

that asthma sufferers are much more likely to have antibodies to the protein.

" It's the first time that this protein has been shown to be associated with

asthma, " Leinonen says. Long-term infections may be the problem, she says,

leading to inflammation and asthma attacks.

The findings suggest that antibiotics could help asthma sufferers. Team member

Hahn of Dean Medical Center in Wisconsin is already enlisting volunteers

for an antibiotic trial. But one such study has recently been completed.

Margaret Kraft of the National Jewish Medical Research Center in Denver,

Colorado, gave 55 asthmatics twice-daily doses of an antibiotic called

clarithromycin for six weeks.

About half the volunteers were infected with C. pneumoniae or another bacterium

called Mycoplasma pneumoniae-and these people showed clear improvements in lung

function. " As clarithromycin has both antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory

effects, we are evaluating [it] further in hopes of elucidating the mechanism, "

Kraft says.

And antibiotics aren't the only option. It might be possible to develop a

vaccine that prevents asthma, Leinonen says. " It would be fantastic to have a

vaccine. " Aventis of Canada is already working on a DNA vaccine against C.

pneumoniae, she adds.

It remains to be seen how big a role C. pneumoniae plays. Some studies suggest

it could be involved in as many as half of all cases of asthma in adults, Hahn

says. " My personal belief is it's greater. " Margaret Hammerschlag of the State

University of New York is sceptical, however. In unpublished studies, she found

the bacterium in only 13 per cent of asthmatic children, and not at all in

adults. " It probably does play a role sometimes, " she says. " But it ain't the

only player. "

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Please mention New Scientist as the source of this story, and if publishing

Online, please carry a hyperlink to: http://www.newscientist.com.

UK CONTACT - Claire Bowles, New Scientist Press Office, London: Tel:

44-0-20-7331-2751 or email claire.bowles@....