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Asthma, Allergies & Inflammation
Asthma
Asthma is caused by inflammation of the airways, these are the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs.
Allergies
The response of the body’s immune system to substances which are usually harmless, such as peanuts, pollens, and animal fur.
Inflammation
Supporting research to understand environmental pollution which affects patients with severe lung conditions
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Asthma
who is affected?
Asthma is common affecting 1 in 11 children and 1 in 12 adults. In the UK 5.4 million people are currently receiving treatment for asthma. Better management of asthma is important for the individual, but also for society as a whole. Asthma causes children to miss school, and over 12 million working days are lost each year because of asthma. Asthma treatment costs the NHS £1 billion annually and there are 1200 deaths.
what is asthma?
Asthma is caused by inflammation of the airways, these are the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs.The airways of people with asthma are more sensitive than normal. When irritated by a ‘trigger’, the airway muscles tighten. There is an increase in mucus and the airway lining becomes inflamed and swollen. All this causes the airway to become narrow. This impairs the ability of the lungs with symptoms such as difficulty breathing, wheezing (a whistling noise in the chest during breathing), a tight chest and coughing.
The triggers that cause airway narrowing vary from person to person, some people have several triggers. Common triggers include infections (eg. cold viruses), cold air, tobacco smoke, house dust mite, animal fur and strong smells. The airway of people with asthma becomes irreversibly thicker over time, leading some to have very poor lung function and symptoms even when triggers are not present.
asthma research
AAIR Charity provides vital funding to support research aiming to:
– Understand why children develop asthma
– Improve treatment of asthma and find a cure
– Prevent the airway thickening that leads to chronic persistent poor lung function and symptoms.
AAIR charity supports asthma researchers in the early stages of their career- PhD students and MSc Allergy students receive funding for projects ranging between a few months and 3 years. These early career researchers, supervised by world leading asthma researchers in University of Southampton will become the asthma researchers of the future.
Asthma treatment
There is no cure for asthma. Treatment includes avoiding triggers and using medicines (often inhalers) to relax the airway muscles and reduce the inflammation.
The use of a written asthma action plan has been shown to reduce asthma attacks. The action plan should be filled in by a doctor or asthma nurse, in discussion with the patient or family. It contains the information needed for individuals to control their asthma, including details about their asthma medicines, how to tell when their symptoms are getting worse and what they should do about it, and emergency information on what to do if they have an asthma attack.
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Allergies
what is an allergy?
An allergy is the response of the body’s immune system to substances which are usually harmless, such as peanuts, pollens, and animal fur. In most people these substances (allergens) don’t cause any problems, but the immune system of people who are allergic to the allergen identifies it as ‘a threat’ and causes an ‘allergic reaction’. Within the body, allergic reactions cause of the development of inflammation in the eyes, nose, lungs, gut and skin.
what causes allergies?
A large range of substances cause allergens. Common causes include:
– Environmental allergens: house dust mite, pollens, animal furs and moulds (fungi).
– Foods: peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, milk, and sea foods
– Insect stings: bee, wasp, hornet
Allergy causes a range of symptoms including:
– Hay fever/Rhinitis (runny, itchy nose)
– Conjunctivitis (Itchy, watery eyes)
– Asthma
– Skin reactions: hives (‘nettle rash’), swelling, eczema
Allergy types
The most severe form of allergy is anaphylaxis. Anaphylaxis is a medical emergency and is treated with an injection of adrenaline/ epinephrine (e.g. Epipen, Jext, Emerade). The emergency services must always be called. Symptoms of anaphylaxis may include breathing difficulty, swelling of the throat or even collapsing.
Some people have intolerances. These people may have a reaction when coming into contact with a substance but the reaction is not caused by the immune system. For example, people with lactose intolerance aren’t able to digest lactose in their diet leading to abdominal symptoms whenever they consume milk products.
Allergy research
AAIR Charity provides vital funding to support research aiming to:
– Understand why people develop allergies
– Improve treatment of allergy
– Prevent allergy
AAIR charity supports researchers of allergy in the early stages of their career- PhD students and MSc Allergy students receive funding for projects ranging between a few months and 3 years. These early career researchers, supervised by world leading allergy researchers at University of Southampton will become key researchers of allergic diseases in the future.
Allergy treatment
People with suspected allergy should be assessed by a doctor to identify the trigger allergens. The doctor or specialist nurse should discuss a management plan with the patient or family that includes how to avoid trigger allergens, and how to recognise & treat allergic reactions including anaphylaxis.
Allergic disorders, including asthma, eczema, hay fever and food allergies, have increased in prevalence and severity in recent years. Allergies now affect up to one in four adults and one in three children in the UK. The research programme at the University of Southampton covers all ages to answer key questions raised by the increasing prevalence and severity of allergic diseases.
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Inflammatory Lung Diseases
who is affected?
Inflammatory lung diseases have been rising worldwide for decades, and we still do not understand the reason. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 420 million people are affected by chronic inflammatory lung diseases including COPD, bronchiectasis, and lung fibrosis. Importantly, patients die early and none of these diseases can be cured with available therapies; current treatments only slow disease progression or try to control symptoms.
research in inflammatory diseases
University Hospital Southampton receives referrals to see patients from across the United Kingdom with any type of suspected or confirmed lung fibrosis. Disease-specific treatments are now being developed, however current treatments do not improve a life expectancy worse than many types of cancers.
University Hospital Southampton is a centre of excellence for patients with the inherited conditions cystic fibrosis (CF) and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD). CF affects 1 in 2000 and PCD affects 1 in 10,000 children. Most PCD patients remain undiagnosed and there are no disease-specific treatments. Patients with both conditions have progressive lung disease starting in infancy and frequent chest infections.
AAIR supports research which helps to understand these important group of conditions, and the infections which cause patients to rapidly deteriorate. The research is improving diagnosis and treatment of these disease.
Importantly, AAIR supports research to understand environmental pollution which affects everyone, and in particular patients with severe lung conditions.