New insights into the pathogenesis of asthma
Interestingly, I sat next to a gentleman a few weeks ago at dinner that was a respiratory therapist. I asked him about the increasing prevalence of asthma, and he just said something like “it’s all about the genes that these kids have.” Really? This study cites a doubling of the asthma rates since 1980. Twenty years ago. Genetic change? Sorry, but it takes literally hundreds of thousands of years for genetic drift to occur. Just a tad shy of the 20 years we see here. The only other answer is environment. This article is a wonderful review of the Th1/Th2 story and how it relates to asthma and atopy. Th1/Th2 imbalances are known to be cause by lack of normal flora in infancy, living in a near-sterile environment and vaccinations. Chalk up another long term harmful effect of antibiotic use.
JCI — Elias et al. 111 (3): 291
