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Organisms in the stable dust reduce the genetic risk of asthma
It has long been known that farm life has a protective effect on asthma. Scientists at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich (LMU) have now found out how far-reaching this effect is in a recent study. A widespread genetic predisposition to asthma can be virtually eliminated, according to the latest release from LMU. Especially in infancy children with a predisposition to the protective farm effect are susceptible.
The LMU-allergologist around Professor Markus Ege of the children's clinic in the Dr. med. For the first time ever, Hauner's Children's Hospital at the University of Munich (LMU) has been able to prove that the right environmental influences can even compensate for a widespread genetic predisposition to asthma. Stable dust, according to the scientists, means that children with genetic predisposition are less likely to develop symptoms of lower respiratory tract infections, indicating that children may also be at lower risk of developing asthma later in life. By up to 80 percent, the risk has been reduced in the current investigations. The researchers published their findings in the journal "American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine"..
Regular contact with stable dust in early childhood resolves genetically elevated asthma risk (Photo: Pavel Losevsky / fotolia.com) Early contact with stall dust particularly effective
According to the researchers, the mentioned gene change not only leads to an increased risk of asthma, but also makes them particularly susceptible to environmental influences, which can protect against asthma in the long term. For example, in children with this altered genetic sequence, who were in regular contact with microorganisms in cows and other animals at the age of less than one year, fewer symptoms of lower respiratory tract infections were reported than in children with the same risk who did not Stables stopped. This suggests that "children later also develop asthma less often than children who did not benefit from the stable effect," says Prof. Ege.
Infections of the lower respiratory tract examined
In their latest study, LMU researchers evaluated the data from the long-term "Pasture" study, which involved nearly 1,000 mothers from rural areas. The women kept a kind of diary about the development of their children from their birth. Among other things, the scientists had information on "how often the children had respiratory problems and how often and how long they were in cows, horses, pigs and poultry", reports the LMU. In their research, Ege and colleagues focused on lower respiratory tract infections, which are usually caused by viruses and manifest in symptoms such as wheezing or wheezing.
Infections are processed differently by barn dust
According to the scientists, respiratory symptoms were 80% less common in children with genetic asthma predisposition, who were already in infants and young children at least two hours a week. "Especially the risk genotype is susceptible to protective environmental signals," says Ege. Apparently children who are taken regularly as infants in the barn, better able to process viral diseases. Although it can be assumed that they are infected with viruses as often as children who do not live on farms. "But they treat infections differently and show no symptoms," explains Dr. med. Georg Loss from the LMU.
Barn dust balances the genetic risk
Based on the data from the Pasture study, the researchers were able to observe the child's development over several years and prove "that children with increased genetic susceptibility to asthma, who show no symptoms of lower respiratory disease at the age of one year, also a lesser Have a risk of developing asthma later, "reports the LMU. According to Professor Ege, "the protective effect is as strong as if they did not have this genetic predisposition." Researchers attribute the effect to the complex mixture of microorganisms that children breathe when playing in animal sheds. Thus, small particles of hay and grass, which contain bacteria, fungi and pollen among other things, would penetrate into their respiratory tract, and the microorganisms apparently alter the inflammatory process in the body, reports Dr. med. Loess.
The LMU allergists have set themselves the goal of determining the exact effect of the so-called stall effect in the body in order to find starting points for future preventive strategies. The studied genetic modification on chromosome 17, one of the sites that is susceptible to asthma, is widespread. About 75 percent of the population show this genetically increased risk of asthma and based on the findings to date, it can be assumed "that they would benefit from the stable effect in very early childhood," explains Professor Ege. (Fp)