ISLAMABAD: Australian researchers have made a breakthrough in treating severe cases of asthma.
In a study, researchers found that beta-cytokines, a family of pro-inflammatory molecules, control airway inflammation and scarring in patients with severe steroid-resistant asthma.
Asthma is a chronic lung disease that, according to the World Health Organization estimate, affected 262 million people worldwide in 2019.
The study, led by a team at the University of South Australia (UniSA), writes that researchers believe a human therapeutic antibody called Trabikiheart may hold the key to effectively blocking inflammation and scarring.
Damon Thoms, one of the study’s leaders and director of UniSA’s Institute of Allergy and Cancer Immunology, said that when asthma is triggered by multiple cells and pathways, current treatments only target one molecule.
“Inflammation and tissue damage in severe asthma is caused by several types of immune cells that enter the lungs due to allergens, viruses and other microbes that interact with the airways,” Tumes said, “In some people, the inflammation is resistant to steroids, the first treatment option for controlling severe asthma.”
“Targeting multiple inflammatory cytokines with a single drug may be the key to treat and control complex and severe chronic airway disease,” he said.
According to a report published by the National Asthma Council Australia in November, asthma caused 467 deaths in the country in 2022, up from 355 deaths in 2021 and the highest number since 2017. —APP
