Pneumonia infection may lead to asthma - US study
Date: 20-Dec-01
Country: USA
A study of mice infected with the Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which is a
common respiratory infection in people, found remnants of the infection
in the animals' lungs as long as 18 months later, and many developed the
bronchial constriction associated with asthma attacks.
"We speculate that Mycoplasma pneumoniae may be able to establish
long-term infection in children and adults that leads to wheezing long
after the initial respiratory infection has resolved," lead researcher
Robert Hardy of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in
Dallas said in a statement.
From eight to 18 months after the test mice were infected, researchers
found they had inflamed lung tissue similar to that in asthmatics and
also detected interleukin-4 in their blood, an immunological marker
often found in asthmatics.
Asthma is a growing epidemic, especially among children, that has been
variously blamed on environmental pollution, weaker immune systems, and
other causes.
Hardy said Mycoplasma pneumoniae is known to be often present at the
time of severe asthma attacks in children and adults. It has also been
found in long-term asthmatics when they are not experiencing attacks.
"Eradicating this infection from asthmatics with prior infection may
greatly improve their lung function," said the study, which was
presented to the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and
Chemotherapy.