Mould clue to asthma

Wednesday December 15th, 2010

A common mould that aggravates asthma may wreak havoc by getting inside the body, researchers have reported.

The mould is found in the soil - and it has been well-known that it causes allergic reactions that can cause asthma.

But a new study suggests that as many as 60 per cent of asthmatic victims of the mould may have it growing within their lungs.

Doctors say they now need to identify how much asthma is being caused by the mould.

The Leicester University study set out to identify the extent to which the mould, aspergillus fumigates, invades people with asthma.

For their research, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, they studied some 79 people with asthma.

Researcher Professor Andy Wardlaw said the problem had been thought to affect just a small number of people with asthma - even though half of those with severe asthma have been found to be allergic to the mould.

Professor Wardlaw said: "Our study showed that six out of ten people with asthma who were allergic to A. fumigatus grew the mould from their sputum.

"We also found that if you were allergic to A. fumigatus you had more narrowing of the airways than if you were not allergic, and this was worse in patients from whom A. fumigatus was grown.

"Our research concluded that it is possible that fixed narrowing of breathing tubes in many people with asthma could be caused by A. fumigatus growing in their lungs.

"Treating individuals from whom A. fumigatus is detected with antibiotics against the mould may prevent fixed narrowing of the airways."

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine December 1 2010: 182.1362-1368

Tags: Allergies & Asthma | Respiratory | UK News

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