Speciality: Biochemistry Biomedical Scientist
Location: London
Duration: Permanent
Speciality: Haematology and BT Biomedical Scientist
Location: Wales
Duration: Temporary
Speciality: Biochemistry Biomedical Scientist
Location: South Central
Duration: Temporary
Speciality: Band 4 Associate Practitioner
Location: London
Duration: Temporary
The summer is now a distant memory in the UK despite September bringing some unexpected sunshine.
Many people will be sad to see the warmer months go but for asthma sufferers the cooler weather can be a welcome relief. The summer brings out high levels of pollen raising the risk of hay fever, and in some cases this seasonal condition can trigger asthma. It is not uncommon for people with asthma to have a harder time coping with respiratory viruses such as flu and the common cold but researchers have been yet to determine why.
Now new research has looked into the differences between asthma and non-asthma sufferers to determine how they respond to viruses in the lungs. A team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis conducted a study, published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, which suggested that a fundamental antiviral defense mechanism is intact in asthma sufferers.
The researchers looked at whether the level of interferon production could be the reason behind the differing reactions. However, their studies found no significant differences between the participants with asthma and those without. The researchers recruited 11 patients with mild to severe asthma and seven control participants without asthma to conduct their study.
Led by senior author Michael J. Holtzman, the Selma and Herman Seldin Professor of Medicine, the researchers compared the genes activated by interferon in both groups of patients to determine whether there was any discernible difference.
Even the elaborate analysis they conducted on what was a fairly small study size was not able to show any distinct alterations between either set of participants.
Dr Holtzman said: "Whatever is causing asthmatics and non-asthmatics to experience differences in how well they recover from these respiratory infections — why patients with asthma are more likely to end up in the hospital, for example — this interferon mechanism is not the deciding factor based on what we've seen so far."
Search for biomedical science jobs at Mediplacements, a genuine specialist providing recruitment opportunities in the NHS and private sector.
Written by Megan Smith
As tumours grow, new cancer cells replace old ones, which die off and release their DNA into the bloodstream....
Chronic transplant rejection can be deadly, and recognising it as early as possible is key to achieving the best...
The Ebola virus has the potential to spread very quickly from patient to patient, and therefore has caused...
A new tumour analysis test has been used to provide more information about cancer in children; something that...