Why is asthma so interesting as a research issue?
Asthma is a hugely important condition that results in symptoms, impaired quality of life and in dangerous and frightening attacks for many people in the community. As a GP for 15 years, I have seen so much ill-health and suffering caused by asthma in my patients, with people of all ages and backgrounds being affected.
Although we do not have a 'cure' for asthma, we do have very effective treatments available, but in spite of this, surveys by Asthma UK and other groups have shown that many people with asthma still suffer significant problems. For many patients asthma is a daily reality, causing symptoms, disturbed nights and preventing them from doing the things they would really like to do in their life.
In spite of being such a common and significant condition there are still many things that we don't fully understand about asthma. Why has asthma become so much more common in recent decades? What are the most effective inhalers and other drug treatments for asthma? How effective are non-drug treatments such as, for example, breathing exercises or herbal treatments, in asthma? What is the relationship between asthma and other allergic conditions such as allergic rhinitis, and can asthma control be improved by treating such problems? What is the best way of organising asthma care in the community to meet the needs of everyone with asthma?
Most people with asthma are treated in general practice by GPs and asthma nurses, and there is a real need for research to be done in this setting to help us better understand how to prevent and treat this illness.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
I am lucky to have an interesting and varied professional life; I work half time in clinical practice as a GP, and also work one afternoon a week in our local hospital Chest Clinic as a Hospital Practitioner. The other half of my time is spent in research into the causes and treatment of asthma, as the GPIAG (General Practice Airways Group) Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen.
Our unit specialises in research that is aimed at improving asthma diagnosis and treatment in the community and in GP surgeries. Some of our research is done in collaboration with our hospital-based specialist colleagues; it is important to realise that asthma is a variable condition that for most people and for most of the time is managed in the community by GPs and nurses, but that at the severe end may result in the need for hospital care.
I enjoy the clinical care: the hospital clinic allows me to meet and help people with severe and difficult asthma, and being a GP is a fascinating and challenging job. It can be very rewarding to get to know and to help people and their families over the years - in good health and in poor.
The research I am involved with is also very stimulating and rewarding, and I feel strongly that as most asthma care occurs in the community, there is a real need for good quality research to be done in this setting by people who are familiar with the practicalities and problems of 'everyday' asthma care.
Over the years I have found that many of my patients have been very interested and keen to explore non-pharmacological treatments for their asthma, and I have become interested in whether people with asthma develop abnormal breathing patterns and whether their symptoms and quality of life can be helped by breathing exercises, which is one of my main research areas.
How does Asthma UK help your research?
Asthma UK is the prime UK charity concerned with asthma, and plays a hugely important role in supporting research into asthma. Unfortunately asthma and other lung problems have not received a great deal of attention from the government in recent years, and without Asthma UK's support, much of the important research currently being done in asthma in the UK today would not be possible. Asthma UK funds three of the projects I am currently involved with, including a study on breathing exercises in asthma.
In addition, Asthma UK have recently performed a large exercise with UK researchers to identify the important areas in asthma research, and so is able to help point researchers towards the key areas.
What do you hope to achieve as a result of your research?
We hope that out breathing exercise study, currently underway in Leicester in collaboration with the Institute of Lung Health, will show whether a short course of breathing exercises supervised by a physiotherapist will help people with asthma, and to spot which people with asthma may benefit most. If confirmed, this may lead to wider availability of such non-drug treatment for asthma on the NHS in the UK.
The other Asthma UK funded studies I am involved with hope to show firstly whether measuring the levels of a gas (nitric oxide) in exhaled breath may act as a guide to tailoring treatment doses in asthma and allow better use of anti-inflammatory treatment, and secondly whether being given antibiotics early in life may have effects on the immune system that make asthma more likely to develop.
How we help
Our researchers
Dr Christopher Brightling
Dr Mike Thomas
Dr Mike Thomas is a GP and Hospital Practitioner, and a GPIAG Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen. He is also an Asthma UK Senior Research Fellow. 
