Genetic testing can accurately predict if an asthmatic child will recover fully from the condition as he/she ages or take the disease well into adulthood, researchers say.
Asthma is considered to be a permanent condition that lasts long and does not have any cure. However, a new study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine found that a significant number of children involved in the study, outgrew the condition as they aged. Certain genetic factors in the children accurately predicted if they could get rid of asthma in childhood or would continue to suffer from it in adulthood.
Researchers from Duke University in North Carolina, based their findings on certain genetic variants, identified by previous studies that were proven to increase the risk of developing asthma. They examined the presence of 15 of these genetic variants in 880 individuals, who were tracked from their early childhood until age 40.
Children with a high genetic risk score had lower chances of growing out of the condition. The prolonged condition was found damaging their regular lung function in adulthood.
"Although our study revealed that genetic risks can help to predict which childhood-onset asthma cases remit and which become life-course-persistent, genetic risk prediction for asthma is still in its infancy", Daniel Belsky, who led the research, said in a news release. "As additional risk genes are discovered, the value of genetic assessments is likely to improve."
Asthma is an inflammation of the air passage that narrows the airway which carries air from the mouth and nose to the lungs. It is one of the most common chronic conditions, affecting one in 20 American children. According to Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), nearly five million asthma sufferers are below 18 years and about 36,000 kids miss school due to asthma.
Currently, there are no clinically proven tests that could predict if a child would fully recover from the condition with age. Researchers also added that it was too soon to be using the finding for clinical tests, reports BBC News.
