New gene link to asthma

New treatments for asthma may be developed thanks to the discovery of a GLINK(#:2316, genetic)} link to the condition. Scientists from the UK's Medical Research Council and the Schering Plough Research Institute in the US have located a gene that is a major contributor to asthma in a large number of cases.

The scientists, who have published their findings in Nature online, analysed the genes of 460 pairs of siblings with asthma, and discovered that genes on an area of Chromosome 20 control how the lungs respond to asthma-causing stimulants. A mutation of one gene in particular - called ADAM33 - caused the lining of the lungs to be oversensitive, making asthma more likely.

Professor Stephen Holgate from Southampton University said that the team was very excited by the discovery as the 'research could lead to entirely new ways of diagnosing and treating asthma'. He believes that the ADAM33 gene may be present in 40 per cent of all asthma cases.

The research has been welcomed by asthma charities. Donna Covey of the UK National Asthma Campaign called the discovery 'very exciting', going on to say that it 'will help us to understand why asthma might develop in the first place'.