Asthma breakthrough for scientists

PA 52/09 Scientists at The University of Nottingham have made a breakthrough in identifying gene variations that appear to increase a person's risk of asthma. The findings of the research could lead to better diagnosis and treatment of asthma which affects more than five million people in the UK. The scientists, led by Professor Ian Hall at University Hospital Nottingham, have discovered three specific gene variations that are indicators for an increased susceptibility to asthma. The risk of asthma is influenced by genes passed from parents to children. Over the past decade variations in many different genes have been linked to asthma but previous studies have often given conflicting results because they were not big enough to provide accurate information. Now though, the Nottingham-based research project has examined genetic material from a much bigger sample of more than 7,000 people, all of whom were born in the same week in 1958. The volunteers had been contacted many times over the years to gather medical information and blood samples for analysis.