To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Systemic Inflammation Present in Obesity Does Not Augment the Inflammation of Asthma URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/22A326.htm Doctor's Guide August 29, 2008
NEW YORK -- August 29, 2008 -- There is a strong link between obesity and asthma, but now a long-suspected link, the systemic inflammation associated with obesity, has been ruled out by a recent study that found no evidence of its involvement. The results were reported in September issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. "We were disappointed not to find a 'smoking gun' that would explain the common association between obesity and asthma," said lead researcher, D. Robin Taylor, MD, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. "However, this research points us to other possibilities that future research should examine." "We hypothesised that the low-grade systemic inflammation present in obesity would augment the inflammation of asthma," wrote Dr. Taylor. "Or alternatively, that the inflammation of obesity might affect the airways independently, perhaps resulting in mixed airway inflammation." In order to determine if there was indeed an interaction between systemic and local inflammation, the researchers recruited 79 women; 20 were obese with asthma, 19 were of a normal weight with asthma, 20 were obese but did not have asthma, and 20 controls. Asthmatics were told to stop using their anti-inflammatory inhaler treatment to avoid confounding effects until "loss of control." After the withdrawal period of 4 weeks, subjects underwent blood tests and tests for biomarkers of systemic and airway inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and cytokines in blood and inflammatory cells and cytokines in sputum. Those that were known to be relevant in both obesity and asthma were chosen. The researchers then analysed for interactions between systemic and airway-specific markers of inflammation. "What we found was that although inflammatory cells and other biomarkers of inflammation were increased, there was no significant interaction demonstrated between obesity and asthma," said Dr. Taylor. "This does not change the fact that there is a well-established link between asthma and obesity. Sometimes a negative result is important, and the results add to our body of knowledge regarding the obesity-asthma link. Now we need to look in other directions for the answers." "Obese patients with asthma are more difficult to treat because their response to bronchoconstriction is exaggerated and gives the impression that the asthma is worse," said Dr. Taylor. "They may well have worse symptoms, but not as a result of underlying airway inflammation. Still, the typical response is often to increase their inhaled anti-inflammatory therapy. This is unlikely to provide the answer and may even do harm. The answer lies in dealing with the obesity itself." SOURCE: American Thoracic Society --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.