Category: Asthma Champions

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Safer Asthma Treatment Explored

Salk Institute for Biological Studies discovery may lead to safer treatments for asthma, allergies and arthritis


Scientists find link between biological clock and sugar metabolism Says Study

Scientists have discovered a missing link between the body’s biological clock and sugar metabolism system, a finding that may help avoid the serious side effects of drugs used for treating asthma, allergies and arthritis.

In a paper published last week in Nature, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies report finding that proteins that control the body’s biological rhythms, known as cryptochromes, also interact with metabolic switches that are targeted by certain anti-inflammatory drugs.

The finding suggests that side effects of current drugs might be avoided by considering patients’ biological rhythms when administering drugs, or by developing new drugs that target the cryptochromes.

“We knew that our sleep and wake cycle are tied to when our bodies process nutrients, but how this happened at the genetic and molecular level was a complete mystery,” says Ronald M. Evans, a professor in Salk’s Gene Expression Laboratory, who led the research team. “Now we’ve found the link between these two important systems, which could serve as a model for how other cellular processes are linked and could hold promise for better therapies.”

Glucocorticoids are steroid hormones that occur naturally in the body and help control the amount of sugar in a person’s blood, so that nutrient levels rise in the morning to fuel daily activities and fall again at night. They function in cells by interacting with glucocorticoid receptors, molecular switches on the outside of the nucleus, which Evans first discovered in 1985.

Glucocorticoids also play a role in regulating inflammation and are used as anti-inflammatory drugs for diseases caused by an overactive immune system, such as allergies, asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. They are also used to treat inflammation in cancer patients.

However, because of their role in sugar metabolism, the steroids can disrupt a person’s normal metabolism, resulting in dangerous side effects, including excessively high blood sugar levels, insulin resistance and diabetic complications.

The Salk researchers may have found a way around these side effects by discovering a new function for cryptochromes 1 and 2, proteins that were previously known for their function in the biological clock.

The cryptochromes serve as breaks to slow the clock’s activity, signaling our biological systems to wind down each evening. In the morning, they stop inhibiting the clock’s activity, helping our physiology ramp up for the coming day.

In their new study on mouse cells, Evans and his colleagues made the surprising discovery that cryptochromes also interact with glucocorticoid receptors, helping to regulate how the body stores and uses sugar.

“We found that not only are the crytopchromes essential to the functioning of the circadian clock, they regulate glucocorticoid action, and thus are central to how the clock interacts with our daily metabolism of nutrients,” says Katja A. Lamia, an assistant professor at The Scripps Research Institute and former post-doctoral researcher in Evan’s laboratory at Salk.

Mouse cells function much like human cells, so the findings could have important implications for treatment of autoimmune diseases and cancer. By taking into account the daily rise and fall of cryptochrome levels, the scientists say, doctors might be able to better time administration of glucocorticoid drugs to avoid certain side effects related to sugar metabolism.

The discovery also raises the possibility of developing new anti-inflammatory drugs that avoid some side effects by targeting cryptochromes instead of directly targeting the glucocorticoid switches.

More broadly, Evans says, the study may help explain the connection between sleep and nutrient metabolism in our bodies, including why people with jobs that require night work or erratic hours are at higher risk for obesity and diabetes.

“Disrupting the normal day-night cycle of activity may prevent a person’s biological clock from synchronizing correctly with their daily patterns of nutrient metabolism,” Evans says. “As a result, the body might not store and process sugar normally, leading to metabolic disease.”

The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust and the Life Sciences Research Foundation.

Contact: Andy Hoang
Ahoang@salk.edu
619-861-5811
Salk Institute

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Can Antibiotics Cure Asthma?

Can Antibiotics Cure Asthma? Pioneering Research Show’s Promise

The first in a series.

It is estimated that over 300 million people worldwide, including almost 24 million American children and adults have Asthma. It is also estimated that a sizable percentage of that population suffers from severe asthma many of whom do not respond well to conventional treatment.

To learn more about current research to address this disease, the World Asthma Foundation reached out to Dr. David Hahn, family practitioner and research pioneer from Madison Wisconsin U.S.A. Dr. Hahn has twenty plus years of research reflecting that severe Asthma may be linked to a respiratory bacterium known as Chlamydia pneumoniae.

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Asthmatic Climbs Mt. McKinley

Chattanooga. TN Asthmatic Man Climbs Mt. McKinley To Raise Asthma Awareness

According to Chattanooga TN News Reports, A Chattanooga man scales one of the world’s tallest peaks to draw attention to pediatric asthma. The 34-year-old, father of two, explains why such a common condition took him all the way to Alaska.

“It’s something everyone has to have but they take for granted, good quality of breathing air,” said Jonathan Lehman, who was diagnosed with a mild case of asthma 4 years ago. The Chattanooga Firefighter was determined to not let the disease slow him, or anyone else, down.

“The stigma that used to be attached to kids with asthma was that you were relegated to inactivity, and that you had to stay inside, and that you couldn’t play sports, and that’s really unnecessary,” said Lehman.
To prove his point, in May, Lehman started his ascent on Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America. It took him 14 days to scale, in temperatures below zero. Lehman used the mountain as a metaphor for spreading the word about lung health. “The mountain would give more than enough parallel to respiratory issues because as you go higher on the mountain the air is thinner and it’s harder to breath,” said Lehman.

His goal wasn’t to raise money, just awareness. “Asthma doesn’t have to be a limiting factor whether you’re a kid or an adult. We live in a great city that has tons of outlets for creative enjoyment whether it’s on the rivers or in the woods, or walking,” said Lehman.

Now that Lehman is back, he’s focusing on a new goal. He’s part of the Citizen Forester Program, a weekend class where participants plant trees and learn about the environment. Lehman says he’d like to move that program into local elementary schools.

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Family Asthma Day Is April 30 at All Children’s Hospital

ST. PETERSBURG – The Suncoast Pediatric Asthma Coalition wants to improve the quality of life for children and teens living with asthma in the Tampa Bay area.

The group is planning its 10th annual Asthma Family Day, which is at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg on April 30.

“We’ll have great speakers, activities, and enthusiastic volunteers,” said Michiko Otsuki Clutter. Clutter is a coalition member and assistant professor of psychology at USF St. Petersburg.

She also heads the Suncoast Youth and Family Health Research Lab. Clutter does research to identify psycho-social factors that help young people manage their asthma care.

“Some kids are better at taking their medication than others. We want to learn why,” Clutter said.

FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE

Annmarie Colwell is a registered respiratory therapist who oversees the coalition’s outreach efforts. “I have two daughters, Natalie, age 13, who is a severe, persistent asthmatic and Caitlin, age 9, who is a mild, intermittent asthmatic,” Colwell said.

According to Colwell, her daughters and their asthma have shaped every aspect of her life including her career path and involvement in the coalition.

Colwell said she cannot forget the first time her infant daughter had trouble breathing and was hospitalized. “You deal with the fear, then the feeling of helplessness, loss of control, guilt and finally the relief that comes from having a child with asthma.”

Colwell shares the lessons she has learned combined with medical expertise. “I try to interact with the parents as well as the children and provide them with ‘real world’ answers on how to live day to day as a family with asthma.”

UNDERSTANDING ASTHMA

More than 7 million American children have asthma. The chronic respiratory disease is a major cause of childhood disability, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

There is no cure for asthma, but “knowing the warning signs of an attack, staying away from things that trigger an attack, and following the advice of your doctor or other medical professional” can reduce risks, the CDC reported.

Asthma accounts for more than 56 million school absences. Asthmatic children often spend their time away from school confined to bed.

Symptoms include: labored breathing; recurrent coughing; rapid, shallow breathing; wheezing, shortness of breath; and chest pain. In severe cases asthma can be deadly.

Treatments usually involve taking medication to prevent inflammation of lung tissue. With proper care, asthma attacks can be significantly reduced. But children with asthma do not always get the care they need or take their asthma medications as prescribed.

HELPFUL TIPS FOR FAMILIES

Colwell offered the following suggestions to parents of asthmatic children:

* Establish a relationship with a pediatric pulmonologist. Asthma can be a life-long disease and having a go-to person is imperative.

* Keep your child and her or his caregivers involved and informed. Make sure they know asthma can be life threatening and what to do if an attack is triggered.

* Keep a binder for questions and answers, get educated on the disease process and how your child reacts to triggers and medications.

“Always remember, you are your child’s best advocate,” Colwell stated.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Asthma Family Day is for children ages 4 to 18 and their families and caregivers. Registration is recommended.

For more information, go to www.allkids.org/AsthmaDay or call (727) 767-4188

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New Asthma Medicines Show Promise

New Asthma Medicines Show Promise Says Scientists

ANAHEIM, — In what they described as the opening of a new era in the development of potentially life-saving new drugs, scientists today reported discovery of a way to tone down an overactive gene involved in colon cancer and block a key protein involved in asthma attacks. Those targets long had ranked among hundreds of thousands that many scientists considered to be “undruggable,” meaning that efforts to reach them with conventional medicines were doomed to fail.

“These substances represent an entirely new class of potential drugs,” study leader Gregory Verdine, Ph.D., told the 241st National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, being held here this week. “They herald a new era in the drug-discovery world.”

Verdine cited estimates that conventional medicines, most of which belong to a family termed “small molecules,” cannot have any effect on 80-90 percent of the proteins in the body known to be key players in disease. Throwing up their hands in frustration, scientists had even begun to term these prime targets for battling disease as “untouchables” and “undruggable.”

The new substances are not small molecules, but “stapled peptides,” named because they consist of protein fragments termed peptides outfitted with chemical braces or “staples.” The stapling gives peptides a stronger, more stable architecture and the ability to work in ways useful in fighting disease.

“Our new stapled peptides can overcome the shortcomings of drugs of the past and target proteins in the body that were once thought to be undruggable,” Verdine said. “They are a genuinely new frontier in medicine.”

In one advance, Verdine and colleagues at Harvard University described development of the first stapled peptides that target colon cancer and asthma attacks. The colon cancer stapled peptides inhibit activity of a protein called beta-catenin that, when present in a hyperactive form, causes cells to grow in an aggressive and uncontrolled way. That protein normally helps keep certain cells, including those lining the colon, in good health. But the abnormal protein has been directly linked with an increased risk of colon cancer and other types of cancer, including those of the skin, brain, and ovaries.

When added to human colon cancer cells growing in laboratory cultures, the stapled peptides reduced the activity of beta-catenin by 50 percent. In patients, that level of reduction could be sufficient to have a beneficial impact on the disease, Verdine suggested.

Verdine also reported development of the first stapled cytokines, which show promise for fighting asthma. Cytokines are hormone-like proteins secreted by cells of the immune system and other body systems that help orchestrate the exchange of signals between cells. The stapled cytokines moderate the activity of a cytokine called interleukin-13, which asthma patients produce in abnormally large amounts that contribute to asthma attacks.

Current asthma drugs, he noted, tend to treat the underlying symptoms of asthma, particularly inflammation. By contrast, stapled cytokines could treat the underlying causes of the disease. Verdine’s team is collaborating with a pharmaceutical firm on efforts to further develop the stapled peptides.

The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 163,000 members, ACS is the world’s largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.M

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Boxing and Asthma – Interview with Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs

Boxing and Asthma – Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs Interview

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Former two time heavyweight champion, actor and asthma sufferer Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs reached out to the World Asthma Foundation (WAF) to talk to us about his boxing career, his struggles with Asthma since childhood and his support for Asthma suffers everywhere.

I spoke with Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs on his mobile phone in New York City, New York today in advance of his upcoming fight with Vitali Klitschko, October 16, 2010 in Hamburg Germany.

Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs is the last American to hold a heavyweight title, the only Asthma sufferer ever to win such honors and Shannon seems absolutely confident he will be the next. “I’m fighting for all of the Asthma Sufferers of the world and I hope that I can be inspiration to men, women and children not to give up on themselves” said Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs.

“Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs is truly a champion in more ways than one and is an inspiration to all Asthmatics around the globe. Asthmatics everywhere should stand up, root for and applaud this world class champion and outstanding spokesperson for the challenges of overcoming and living with Asthma” said William Cullifer, WAF Executive Director.

Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs grew up in Brooklyn, New York became New York City Golden Gloves champion, New York State Champion, National P.A.L. Champion and finished second place as a Heavyweight at the Panamerican Games in 1991,

In 1992 Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs became the United States Amateur Champion and was undefeated in his first 25 fights. Suffering only his first loss by undefeated Darroll Wilson in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1996. Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs went on to defeated the 49 year old George Foreman; with a lost to Lennox Lewis for the WBC heavyweight title.

Following Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs won theWBO heavyweight championship title when he knocked out Sergei Liakhovich in the last round in 2006. In your first title defense you went on to face Sultan Ibragimov on March 10, 2007; however you pulled out of the fight because he was diagnosed with “aspirational pneumonia.”

The fight was rescheduled fifty days later in Atlantic City you lost to unanimous decision. Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs us also an actor appearing on New York Undercover and in feature films Bad Boys 2 with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, Transporter 2, and The Wackness just to name a few.

Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs will fight with Vitali Klitschko, October 16, 2010 in Hamburg Germany. Details about the fight as well as post fight interviews to follow.