Asthma causes the deaths of 180 thousand people around the world each year, while millions more suffer from its symptoms. And the numbers are rising. House dust, pollens and chemicals are some of the triggers for an asthma attack. And although there are treatments for the symptoms, there is no cure.

"None of the current therapeutic strategies target the initial development of the disease, and that's what we would like to do, develop highly specific therapeutic agents that attenuate the inflammatory response with very little side affect. "

Dr. Paul Foster of the John Curtin School of Medical Research is trying to better understand what causes Asthma.

When dust, pollen or house dust mites enter our lungs, our immune system sets out to repel the intruder. But in asthmatics the immune response goes haywire.

"Asthma could be summed up as an inflammatory disorder of the lung, that is driven by an inappropriate immune response and that immune response is called a TH2 response."

This TH2 response uses a substance called cytokine, which may be the cause of the problem. After being treated to have either too much or not enough cytokine in their systems, these mice are being checked for their immune response to various irritants.

By determining the role of cytokine in the mice, Dr. Foster will then be better able to understand it's reaction in human lungs during an asthma attack.

By isolating the reason why the immune systems of asthmatics react in this way, it may then be possible to develop a cure.

Dr. Paul Foster
ohn Curtin School of Medical Research
ANU Canberra 2000

Paul.Foster@anu.edu.au