World Asthma Day 2015 is Celebrated on May the 5th
World Asthma Day 2015 is celebrated on May the 5th. About 300 million people suffer from this chronic respiratory disease. The main symptoms are wheezing, shortness of breath, feeling of tightness in the chest and coughing. Asthma leads to disability and early death.
To draw public`s attention to this issue National Institute of Health (NIH) on May the 5th held a number of campaigns concerning the spreading of information about the disease. Every year, scientists of this institution develop more effective methods of treatments and prevention of asthma.
Today they managed to achieve a significant progress in research on the causes of asthma and the factors that may lead to its development or worsening of the patient’s health, especially when speaking about the impact of microorganisms and allergic triggers.
To improve the quality of life of patients the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) have begun to work together at research projects on asthma.
NIAID supports the basic, preclinical and clinical researches focused on improving understanding, prevention and treatment of immunologic and infectious diseases. The Institute focuses on the study of the effect of microbial exposure and other allergens that cause asthma. The work at a research project aimed at identifying cell receptor of rhinovirus infection and other new targeted therapies is still continuing.
In the NHLBI there it is continuing the work at a project which aims to compare microbioms of lungs and intestine in order to understand the role of microorganisms in the treatment of asthma and allergies.
The Program on “Origin of Asthma in Children” (also funded by the Institute) is targeted to identify high risks of diseases in children. The work is based on the study of genetic and environmental factors. Some studies have shown that rhinovirus infections provoke the appearance of wheezing in children aged three years and as a result the development of asthma at six year old children.
The research that are conducted by the NIEHS regarding the impact of parents` smoking and the impact of polluted environment on the development of asthma in children. It has been proved that smoking during pregnancy carries risks of a baby being diseases with asthma.
In addition, the NIEHS Clinical Research Unit also initiated patient recruitment at the beginning of the year that implies taking of samples from the environment in which asthma patients live. In due time, for the five-year study, researchers will be particularly focused on bacteria found in humans and in their houses.