CINCINNATI, June 16 (UPI) -- The Cincinnati Children's Medical Center has announced what it says is one of the most significant breakthroughs in allergic diseases research in recent years.
ScienceDaily.com said a group of researchers led by the Cincinnati center has discovered 291 genes associated with asthma and a new and promising pathway involving one particular gene, arginase, to target for drug development.
Scientists previously thought only a dozen or so genes were implicated in asthma. The scientists say their discovery that asthma involves the interplay of 291 genes has tremendous therapeutic and diagnostic implications.
The study, which also involved scientists in the United States, Canada and Australia, is published in the current July issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
More than 17 million Americans are currently estimated to have asthma, and more than 70 percent of people with asthma also suffer from allergies.
