Scientists from the Khabarovsk branch of the Far Eastern Scientific Center for Respiratory Physiology and Pathology of the Research Institute of Maternal and Child Health have developed a method to estimate the risk of uncontrolled bronchial asthma in obese children, taking into account their genotypes. The effectiveness of the method is 79.2%, socialbites.ca was told by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
Asthma and obesity have a relationship: Obesity is associated with a higher incidence of asthma, even with moderate weight gain. At the same time, obese patients have a more severe form of asthma, so timely diagnosis and prevention are of great importance, especially in children. This is not only because the prevalence of asthma in children is currently higher than in adults, but also because there is evidence that the risk of developing asthma increases with obesity by 1.82 times in adults and 1.98 times in children.
“The important challenge now is to control the symptoms and risk factors that lead to exacerbation of the disease. The pathogenesis of asthma is based on chronic inflammation of the bronchi and airway hyperresponsiveness. Adipose tissue is an active endocrine organ that produces a large number of different pro- and anti-inflammatory factors. Galina Evseeva, one of the experts at the center, says Disruption of their balance can lead to progression of the disease and act as an additional risk factor for its development,” he told socialbites.ca.
Genes play a role in the origin of both processes. Scientists have identified several groups of candidate genes that overlap between obese people and people with asthma. These are genes that specifically regulate the activity of ADRB2 receptors (responsible for smooth muscle relaxation and bronchodilation) and PPARG (determines susceptibility to obesity).
Thanks to the developed method, it is possible to predict the risk of developing asthma in obese children based on the combinations of these genes. Its use helps develop an individual treatment plan: differentiated therapy, nutritional adjustments, physical activity, etc.
Earlier Russian scientists to create Markers indicating possible cancer recurrence.