Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC researchers have identified cells that have the unique capability of playing a critical role in some forms of steroid-resistance asthma, which is a complication that has the effect of creating hassles in treating asthma.

Jay K. Kolls, MD, chief of the Division of Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine, Allergy and Immunology at Children’s Hospital and study’s senior author, said that scientists can develop new forms of asthma control management and treatment with the identification of T Helper Type 17 (Th17).

These findings are expected to benefit more than 11 million Americans who have been diagnosed with steroid-resistant asthma.

From Sciencedaily.com:

“Asthma is a challenging condition to treat. For many patients, if they take preventive medications regularly, the condition can be controlled and they can lead relatively normal lives,” Dr. Kolls said. “Inhaled steroids are an important treatment for patients to prevent asthma attacks. Unfortunately, some patients have attacks despite the use of inhaled steroids, meaning they don’t respond to steroids or they need such high doses that side effects are experienced.”

In a study published in the September issue of the Journal of Immunology, Dr. Kolls and colleagues found that Th17 cells mediated steroid-resistant airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness in animal models of asthma. Th17 cells are part of the immune system and are found where the body comes in contact with the external environment, such as the lungs and the lining of the gastrointestinal tract.

“Identifying Th17 cells as a potential mechanism by which steroid-resistant asthma gives us a potential new target for the development of drugs that focus on these cells and lead to better overall control of asthma,” said Dr. Kolls, the Niels K. Jerne Professor of Pediatrics and Immunology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.”

This study is seen as a positive step towards finding a potential new target for development of drugs that can lead to an effective asthma management. It is further believed that these findings have the capabilities of change the forms of treatment concerned with steroid-resistant asthma.

Tags:  asthma, asthma control, steroid-resistant asthma, Steroids, treating asthma

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