AS the season for colds and flu starts again, British researchers have discovered the strongest link yet between the common cold and asthma. Doctors at Southampton University found cold viruses present in 80 to 85 per cent of children suffering severe asthma attacks. Doctors now want to discover the precise mechanisms by which a cold can trigger an asthma attack.
In other research reported in Nature, scientists at Oxford University have uncovered evidence which they believe will ultimately prove asthmatics are genetically predisposed to the condition. Studying 208 children in 80 Australian families, they found that the same genes appear to cause eczema (present in 57 per cent of the offspring) and asthma (12 per cent). Although not finding specific genes, they have located areas of the human genome - the genetic "map" - where the genes probably lie. If they are successful in precisely mapping the genes, gene therapy for asthma could be inevitable.
Women and heart disease
HEART disease is the biggest killer of Irish women, and while advances in treatment are occurring, according to US research deaths from heart disease are not declining as fast for women as they are for men.
Researchers in Minnesota in the US studied all deaths of 30 to 74 year olds during a five year period, and found the relative risk of dying within three years after a first heart attack had plummeted by 25 per cent for men and 17 per cent for women. The authors of the report, which was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, concluded many factors contributed to the lowering of the death rate, including more aggressive use of surgery and thrombolytic therapy in hospital and a greater emphasis on preventive measures such as dietary changes, stopping smoking and using aspirin as a cardio protector. As for why women are not benefiting as much, one clue could be that most of the research into new treatments for heart disease is conducted on men.
An unhealthy lifestyle is the reason one in four of Northern Ireland's teenagers - male and female - carry a heavy risk of developing heart disease, according to a health survey of 15 year olds led by Professor Colin Boreham, of the University of Ulster. One quarter have two or more coronary disease risk factors, and 97 per cent of those aged 12 to 15 consume more than the recommended intake of saturated fats.
Herpes and cold sores
FEW people realise that the virus which causes cold sores can kill when the immune system breaks down. Up to 70 per cent of people are infected with the herpes virus and for most it is harmless, if inconvenient. However, in people with AIDS, transplant patients and others who are seriously ill, herpes can cause blindness. Three separate teams of scientists reported in Nature that they have mapped a key enzyme of the herpes virus, a discovery which could lead to better drugs to attack this deadly syndrome.