Severe Asthma May Be Discovered by a Simple Blood Test

In the near future, you may be able to tell if you, or your child, is at risk of having a severe form of asthma by having a simple blood test. Researchers have identified a particular protein in the blood that acts as a biomarker. This biomarker can be used to identify people who have a serious form of asthma.

Researchers from Yale School of Medicine made the announcement in a recent press release. Now that a biomarker has been identified, researchers are another step closer to trying to find a cure for asthma. A form of severe asthma, that is difficult to treat, affects over 2.5 million people in America.

They named the biomarker that they found YKL-40. Researchers found significantly high levels of this biomarker in the blood of asthma patients who suffered from severe forms of asthma. The worse someone had asthma and diminished lung functions, the higher the incidents of YKL-40 were found in their blood.

Being able to determine one's propensity to have severe asthma based upon a simple blood test will be useful in treating asthmatics and in conducting future research.
Studies were done on over 250 patients at Yale, the University of Paris, and the University of Wisconsin.

"This may allow us to identify a subpopulation of patients with severe asthma and give us insights into the biologic processes that make the disease so severe in these individuals," said Jack Elias, M.D., professor and chair of medicine, professor of immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine.

Elias continued, "Our studies also have demonstrated that eliminating YKL-40 decreases specific types of tissue inflammation-which could be of particular benefit to asthmatic patients with an elevated level of this protein."

Researchers believe that further research on the biomarker, YKL-40, should be included in any other research regarding asthma.

Asthma affects over 30 million Americans, of whom nine million are children. When someone has asthma, their airway becomes inflamed, has excess mucus, and it can become very difficult to breathe. The excess mucus is typically their body's response to some other substance, whether dirt, dust, dander, weed, exercise, or even emotional stress.

People who have asthma can have it in different degrees. Some people have very mild cases of asthma that are easily treated. Recovery is generally quite fast.

Other people can have extremely severe forms of asthma. People who suffer from severe forms of asthma could even find themselves in a life-threatening situation.

is characterized by chronic inflammation and structural changes in the airways-symptoms that are severe in some patients and mild in others.

Investigators are trying to find ways to control the inflammation and to understand the variation in severity.

Sources:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-11/yu-yds111407.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asthma