Gene linked with childhood asthma
05 July 2007

The discovery of a gene linked to childhood asthma could aid the development of new treatments, according to research published in the journal Nature.

In a genetic study of more than 2,000 children, scientists from Imperial College London – along with colleagues from the UK, France, Germany, the USA and Austria - established that genetic markers on a particular chromosome (chromosome 17) could greatly increase the risk of them having asthma.

These markers were found to alter levels of a newly discovered gene, called ORMDL3, which was at a higher level in the blood cells of children with asthma than in those without. It is thought that this increased level of ORMDL3 could increase the risk of having asthma by 60-70%.

The findings increase scientists' understanding of the causes of childhood asthma, and they hope their research will eventually enable new therapies to be developed.

Dr Victoria King, Asthma UK’s Research Development Manager said: ‘This is an exciting development in determining how genetics affect the chance of developing asthma in childhood, which currently affects 1 in 10 children in the UK.

‘Through research like this, it will be possible to determine both the risks and protective factors associated with a person’s genetic makeup, with the long-term aim of preventing and treating asthma in both childhood and later in adult life. Asthma UK looks forward to the next planned large scale replication studies of this research in multiple centres across the European network which will further explore these positive developments’.