Decline In Lung
Antioxidants
Linked To Asthma Attacks
CLEVELAND, OH -- February 25, 2000 -- Scientists at the Cleveland
Clinic’s Lerner Research Institute have found that levels of
certain lung enzymes decrease during allergen-provoked asthma, creating the
potential for development of novel drugs to fight the disease. The results
of their work are published in the Feb. 19, 2000, issue of The Lancet
medical journal.
Researchers Serpil Erzurum, M.D., and Suzy Comhair, Ph.D.,
documented declines in the concentrations of the
antioxidants superoxide dismutase and reduced glutathione in lung fluids
from asthmatics 10 minutes after exposure to grass or ragweed
allergens.
Nonasthmatic control volunteers, on the other hand, did not experience declines
in lung antioxidant levels. Moreover, superoxide dismutase levels
remained well below
preasthmatic induction levels 48 hours after initial
exposure to the allergens.
"Antioxidants play a key role in preserving healthy
lungs in humans," said Dr. Erzurum, a staff physician in the
Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.
"The lungs are frequently exposed to toxic
oxidants from cigarette smoke,
air pollutants, or from reactive
oxidants released by
inflammatory cells during
inflammation. Fortunately, the lung is endowed with an
integrated defense system that uses
antioxidants such as glutathione
and superoxide dismutase to protect lung cells and tissue from
damaging oxidants."
However, Dr. Erzurum added, acute asthmatic attacks impair that antioxidant
defense system. "When oxidants overwhelm
antioxidants, tissue injury and disease results." she said. "Our
studies show that chronic asthma features
decreased levels of antioxidants in the
lungs, and the decrease is markedly
worse during acute asthmatic attacks.
These results support the role of antioxidant/oxidant
imbalance in the deterioration and injury of airway tissue in the lungs of
asthmatics. The findings highlight the importance of testing
new therapies for boosting antioxidant levels in the lungs of asthmatics,"
Dr. Erzurum said.
As many as 150 million people worldwide suffer from asthma, and the number
is rising, according to the World Health Organization. In the U.S., the number
of asthmatics has risen 60 percent since the early 1980s. There are approximately
5,000 asthma-related deaths each year in the U.S., and 180,000 per year
worldwide.
The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, founded in 1921, integrates clinical and
hospital care with research and education in a private, non-profit group
practice. ...
Copyright (c) 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc.
