Health
Adult-onset asthma may be different from child-onset asthma
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 26, 2004
Allergies are more common in asthmatics whose disease starts in childhood but those who develop the condition when they are older lose lung function faster, according to a paper published in the January Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver studied 80 patients with severe asthma for allergen sensitivity and lung function. Those who developed the disease before age 12 were more likely to wheeze when exposed to dust and pollen and were more likely to have had a history of eczema. Those who developed the disease after age 12 had worse lung function despite being asthmatic for a shorter period.
Authors of the paper suggested that differentiating among forms of asthma may lead to better treatment options.
"Asthma has traditionally been very broadly defined in terms of symptoms rather than underlying biological processes," said Sally Wenzel, MD, lead investigator and a pulmonologist at the center. "Our research helped divide these severe asthma patients into four subsets. We believe these subsets represent different biological processes."
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/01/26/hlbf0126.htm.
