Asthma is a growing problem. It is a condition that affects the lungs and causes inflammation in the airways. This can make it very difficult to breathe, leading to coughing, shortness of breath and tightness of the chest. It is a very worrying and stressful condition to have, and is especially common in children.
That means that scientists are constantly looking for new ways to treat the disease. And now research has shown that a newly recognised type of immune cell may play an important role in causing asthma. This could explain why some therapies simply don’t work and could open the door to new treatments.
The report, published by researchers from Children’s Hospital Boston, found immune cells, known as natural-killer T (NKT ) cells, that were found in very high levels in the lungs of patients with asthma, but almost completely absent in the lungs of people without the condition. The authors of study admitted that the results were unexpected.
Previous research had indicated the activation of NKT cells is required for the development of asthma in mice, and those mice that lacked that NKT cells did not develop airway problems. It was then shown that these NKT cells were sufficient enough to cause asthma in mice on their own.
While this research was intriguing it was necessary to do further studies to see if they could be applied to humans. The new research has proven that the NKT cells can indeed cause the same problems in people.
This has shown that scientists can now look into new ways to treat asthma. If the cells can be stopped from forming then it could solve a number of issues caused by the condition.
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