Asthma could be cured within five years after drug breakthrough

A cure for asthma may be available within five years after scientists discovered how to switch off the causes of the condition.

Researchers at Cardiff University and Kings College London identified which cells cause airways to narrow – causing coughing, chest tightness and breathlessness – when triggered by irritants.

Because drugs which can deactivate those cells, or calcilytics, are already in existence and used to treat osteoporosis, scientists hope that within five years doctors will be able to administer treatment directly into the lungs of patients, stopping asthma from happening in the first place.

‘Our findings are incredibly exciting,’ Professor Daniela Riccardi, of Cardiff University’s School of Biosciences, told the Telegraph.

‘If we can prove that calcilytics are safe when administered directly to the lung in people, then in five years we could be in a position to treat patients and potentially stop asthma from happening in the first place.’

Dr. Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Policy at Asthma UK, told the Telegraph the discovery could be life-changing for ‘hundreds of thousands of people’.

‘Asthma research is chronically underfunded; there have only been a handful of new treatments developed in the last 50 years so the importance of investment in research like this is absolutely essential,’ she said.

Scientists have known for some time that asthma is a product of inflammation in the small tubes that take air to and from the lungs but did not know what triggered it.

Experiments on mice and human airway tissue showed that calcium sensing receptor cells are particularly sensitive in asthmatics but can be deactivated by the inhalation of calcilytic drugs, stopping all symptoms.

Scientists hope clinical trials will begin soon.