LONDON: A significant development has been made in the long-term management of the miserable condition of asthma.
Researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Aston have developed a novel way for identifying the underlying cause of asthma. In studies using mice, almost all signs of asthma vanished, and their airways stayed healthy for two weeks.
Millions of people worldwide, including Pakistan, suffer from the excruciatingly painful condition of asthma each year.
At the moment, steroids are used to treat it, and they provide momentary relief.
But in this case, a specific kind of stem cell known as a pericyte, which is found in the inner lining of blood arteries, has been taken into consideration by Dr. Jill Johnson of Easton University and her associates.
The pericytes reach the airway wall when dust or any other factor triggers an asthma episode.
After then, the muscle cells thicken, and the airways start to constrict.
It was discovered that the protein CXCL12 moves pericytes. To solve this problem, scientists developed the LIT 927 molecule, which inhibits the signal. The rat’s nostril received the injection. Within a week of being sprayed with gin, asthma symptoms in mice were considerably reduced.
However, LIT 927 therapy also preserved the fineness of the airways. The asthmatic mice’s airways even completely resembled those of the normal mice.
More study is being done on it now by scientists. They think that following the effect on mice, its advantages will also be noticed in humans.
