Genetic Link Triggers Asthma

In a world-first, Australian scientists have discovered a genetic trigger that causes severe asthma in children.

The study found that if children suffer from asthma, and they have a variation in the gene IL 12, the risk of severe asthma is greatly increased.

The genetic variation causes the immune cells to secrete lower levels of a particular cytokine- a chemical that cells use to talk to each other.

The Head of the division of clinical sciences at the Institute for Child Health Research, said the study had far-reaching implications.

“If we can unravel the mechanisms behind why some people get more severe asthma, we can tell parents if their children are at more risk of developing severe asthma and to be more vigilant with their treatment. But we might also be able to design more specific treatments that will prevent the asthma from becoming more severe.”

The findings, published in The Lancet are an unexpected finding from an on-going project that began while 2400 children were still in the womb.

The discovery was made when the researchers examined the children at age six. Most are now ten years old.

The research, now in its twelfth year, is being completed by scientists at Perth’s Institute for Child Health Research and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research in Melbourne.

Forty per cent of Australian children suffer from asthma, and five per cent of asthmatic children have a severe form of the disease. Half the asthma in children is related to viral infections and half is related to allergies.

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Source: The Australian, 10 August 2002

基因链与哮喘病
    澳大利亚的科学家们在世界上首次发现了一个会导致严重的儿童哮喘病的基因激发元。
该研究发现，假如儿童患有哮喘，而且他们的基因IL12有变异，那么患严重哮喘的风险就被大大增加了。
该基因变异引起免疫细胞分泌出少一种特定的细胞激动素（一种细胞用来互相对话的化学元素）的水平降低。
儿童健康研究所（the Institute for Child Health Research）临床科学部主任说，该项研究具有深远的意义。
“如果我们能够阐明为什么有些儿童患有的哮喘病更严重这一现象背后的机理，我们就可以告诉家长们他们的孩子是否有更大的危险患上严重哮喘病，以及告诉他们要对孩子们的治疗更加警醒。不过，我们也许还能够设计出一些更有特效的治疗手段，可以防止哮喘变得更严重。”
发表在《柳叶刀》(The Lancet) 上的这些研究成果是一项正在进行的研究项目的意外发现，该项目在2,400名儿童尚在母亲子宫里时就开始了。
研究人员在孩子们六岁时检查了他们的身体，结果得到了这个发现。现在大多数孩子已满10岁了。
这项研究如今已进入第十二个年头，现在正由柏斯儿童健康研究所（Perth’s Institute for Child Health Research）和墨尔本的伊莱莎•豪尔医疗研究所(Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research)的科学家们协同完成。
澳大利亚百分之四十的儿童患有哮喘病，而百分之五的患儿得的是一种重型哮喘。儿童哮喘一半跟病毒感染有关，另一半与过敏有关。

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