Allergy link to asthma questioned

The long-held belief that allergies cause asthma in children has been questioned by new research in Western Australia.

Research conducted at Perth's Princess Margaret Hospital and supported by the Asthma Foundation of WA suggests that cell abnormalities in the airways may be the cause of asthma.

The researchers are studying epithelial cells, which line the airways in the lung, and comparing them in children with and without asthma and allergy.

Research program head Stephen Stick said the epithelial cells in children with asthma behaved differently, especially in the way they responded to injury.

"All the surfaces of the body are subject to wear and tear and the lining of the airways is no exception," he said.

"It appears however, that the lining of the airways in asthma are defective in the way they repair."

Professor Stick said the research aimed to uncover the mechanism of that defect.

He said that in the past, there had been a focus on the strong relationship between allergy and asthma.

But only a minority of people with allergies ever got asthma, he said.

"This suggests that some other factor, specific to the asthmatic, must be at work."

Professor Stick said he hoped to identify the problem associated with epithelial repair, which could not only help the study of asthma, but also the medical approach to inflammatory diseases.

- AAP