Asthma is a chronic disease of the airways and is estimated to affect more than 300 million people worldwide. The number of people, especially children, who are developing asthma is increasing, with a significant rise in Asia (particularly India and China), western Europe and the USA.
The house dust mite is the principal source of perennial allergen in Humans. The primary allergens in house dust mites are a family of small proteins, of which there are more than twenty. The house dust mite (below) is a tiny creature that cannot be seen with the naked eye. It thrives in damp, humid environments where it feeds on bacteria, flaked skin and organic waste. It is increasingly common within homes and can colonize a house within months.
A new study by Anant Parekh, Professor of Physiology at Oxford University and his colleagues has discovered how the house dust mite causes inflammation in the lung. Knowing the allergen involved and how it hits the immune system opens up the possibility for developing new treatments that specifically target either the allergen itself or the process through which it communicates with the lung immune cells.
The Oxford scientists found that one drug that is used in the clinic to reduce blood clots also prevented the allergen from working. This drug has already been used in studies in mice that have asthma and found to bring relief from the disease. However, routinely taking an anti-clotting agent for treating asthma is not without risks so the Oxford group are developing new drugs that attack the allergen specifically.
Once such a drug is developed, it will be tested in humans in small scale clinical trials. How long it will take to develop a drug and show it works in humans is unpredictable, but the promising work from the Oxford group should lead to new treatments for asthma in the coming years.
