For the first time a potential root cause of asthma has been identified along with a novel treatment using an existing drug, thanks to new research at Cardiff University in the UK. "If this research proves successful we may be just a few years away from a new treatment for asthma, and we urgently need further investment to take it further through clinical trials," says Dr. Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Policy at Asthma UK, who helped fund the study. Using mouse models of asthma and human airway tissue from both asthmatics and non-asthmatics, the team discovered that a class of drugs called calcilytics effectively reversed all symptoms. At the root of asthma is a calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) in airway tissue that activates when triggered by allergens, cigarette smoke and car fumes.
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