Asthma: Calcium treatment set to release in 5 years?
updated the 14 July 2015 à 18:30According to a recent British study, asthma could be eradicated for good within the next five years, thanks to this new essential discovery.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as many as 235 million people suffer from asthma. Yet, the only remedies to alleviate the symptoms, such as corticosteroids and other bronchodilators, aren’t promising enough seeing there are still deaths tied to the illness. In light of the Asthma Awareness Month, we look at a very promising study that was recently published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Will asthma be cured in 5 years?
That’s what the study’s researchers from Cardiff University and King’s College in London are hoping for. They studied mice and compared them with two different human tissues, one from an asthma patient and another one from a healthy individual. The study shows the level of bronchial irritation is correlated to the activity of some calcium receptors (CaSR). With this finding, scientists have concluded that disabling these receptors could prevent inflammation and asthma symptoms. The good news doesn’t end there. Molecules with such effects already exist, and they are used to treat osteoporosis (a disease for which the study results have been disappointing, however).
Tests are underway to determine if these substances, called calcilytics could end asthma once and for all.
Maureen Diament
