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New "asthma gene" could lead to new therapies |
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07:48, July 05, 2007 |
A gene that is strongly associatedwith a risk of developing childhood onset asthma was identified byan international team of scientists, whose findings are published Wednesday in the journal Nature.
In a genetic study of more than 2,000 children, scientists fromthe University of Michigan and colleagues from London, France and Germany found genetic markers that dramatically increase a child'srisk for asthma.
These markers are located on chromosome 17, and children with this marker had higher levels of a new gene called ORMDL3 in theirblood, which occurs in higher amounts in children with asthma. Thepresence of the disease-associated version of ORMDL3 increases therisk of asthma by 60-70 percent, the study suggests.
"In terms of an asthma gene, there have been quite a few reports but not one that can be clearly reproduced in samples," said Goncalo Abecasis from University of Michigan School of PublicHealth. "I think eventually it will lead to new therapies because it points to a specific biological molecular pathway. Once we understand the biology and we know the players, it's possible to target with specific drugs."
Childhood asthma treatments are heavily focused on allergic responses, since most children with asthma also have many allergies. The discovery of a so-called "asthma gene," which has no known relation to allergic responses, would provide a new set of mechanisms to try and modify and manage childhood asthma, Abecasis said.
Asthma, a complex disease caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Asthma occurs in 7-10 percent of children in the UnitedStates and one child in seven in the United Kingdom. Its prevalence differs widely among different geographic areas.
Source: Xinhua
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