Public release date: 27-Jun-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ] Contact: Kendall Morgan Kendall.morgan@duke.edu 919-684-2850 Duke University DURHAM, N.C. -- Children with more genetic risks for asthma are not only more likely to develop the condition at a young age, but they are also more likely to continue to suffer with asthma into adulthood. The finding reported by Duke University researchers is one of the latest to come from a 40-year longitudinal study of New Zealanders. "We've been able to look at how newly discovered genetic risks relate to the life course of asthma at an unprecedented level of resolution," said Daniel Belsky, a postdoctoral fellow at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy and the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development. Earlier studies had linked several genes to small increases in asthma risk. Belsky, along with Duke's Avshalom Caspi, Terrie Moffit and others, wanted to know whether those individual risks literally add up. They looked to the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, an effort to examine the behavior and health -- including lung function -- of 1,037 individuals who have been tracked since their birth in Dunedin, New Zealand during a 12-month period from … Continue reading →

dagmar heymans / Getty Images Half of children with asthma will continue to suffer from the respiratory disorder as adults, and a new genetic test could reveal who remains at risk past childhood. About one in 11 children suffers from asthma, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and although half will eventually grow out of the condition, a recent CDC survey found that medical costs of asthma and its complications add up to about $56 billion each year. Improved treatment of those most likely to live with their condition longer term, say experts, could help to lower some of these costs, which include treating complications and mismanaged symptoms. Researchers report in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine that a new genetic test may be able to predict a childs risk of having asthma into adulthood, and therefore help doctors figure out which children might need more intensive care in childhood to potentially lower their risk of longer term symptoms. (MORE: Experimental Asthma Drug May Provide Major ReliefBut For a Limited Group of Patients) The new study piggy backs on so-called genome-wide association (GWAS) studies, which compare those affected by asthma to those who are not to isolate specific genetic … Continue reading →

Study reveals genetic testings promise for predicting which children will grow out of asthma Genetic risk assessments could be used to predict which children with asthma are likely to grow out of the condition, and which will continue having symptoms as they grow older, new research emerging from the University of Otagos world-renowned Dunedin Multidisciplinary Study suggests. A team of Otago and Duke University researchers set out to test how genetic discoveries about asthma predisposition relate to the developmental and biological characteristics of the condition. Their findings are newly published Online First in the UK journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. After analysing data from the long-running Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study of around 1,000 children born in 1972-73, the team discovered that those with childhood asthma and higher genetic risk scores for being predisposed to it were more than one-third (36%) more likely to develop asthma that persists throughout their lives than those found to have a lower genetic risk. Approximately half of all children with asthma will grow out of it by the time they reach adolescence or adulthood. Currently, there are no tests that can predict which children will never grow out of asthma and which will … Continue reading →

Researchers say genetic testing may help predict which children suffering from asthma will grow out of the condition. No tests currently exist which can forecast which sufferers will be stuck with the symptoms all of their lives and which will recover as they age, but research from the University of Otago indicates genetic testing will help identify those who will have lifelong asthma. Analysing data from the long-running Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, a team of Otago and Duke University researchers found those with childhood asthma and higher genetic risk scores for being predisposed to it were more than one-third more likely to develop asthma long-term. The findings, published online in the UK journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, looked at data from around 1000 children born in 1972-73. The study investigated whether several genetic variants, known as single nucleotide polymorphisms and which carry a small increased risk of asthma, were related to the onset, persistence and severity of the condition. It found that boys and girls with higher risk scores had a greater likelihood of developing asthma over the 38 years of follow-up than those with a lower genetic risk. "Although our study revealed that genetic risks can help … Continue reading →