Background: Genetic factors play a role in asthma severity. However, low- and middle-income countries have minimal contribution to genomic asthma research. The current study investigates the influence of an important genetic asthma region (6p21) on severe asthma in a cohort of asthmatics in Pakistan.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Long-acting beta2-agonists (LABA) in combination with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are commonly used to treat asthma, however, some children lack response to the addition of LABA. This might be partially due to the presence of the Arg16Gly polymorphism, encoded by rs1042713 G>A in the ADRB2 gene. Carrying the A allele (Arg16) at this variant has been associated with an increased risk of exacerbations despite LABA treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Underlying immunological mechanisms in children with moderate-to-severe asthma are complex and unclear. We aimed to investigate the association between blood inflammatory parameters and asthma burden in children with moderate-to-severe asthma.
Methods: Blood inflammatory parameters (eosinophil and neutrophil counts and inflammatory mediators using multiplex immunoassay technology) were measured in children (6-17 years) with moderate-to-severe asthma from the SysPharmPediA cohort across four European countries.