Epigenome Variation in Severe Asthma

Epigenome-modifying tools in asthma

Asthma is a chronic disease which causes recurrent breathlessness affecting 300 million people worldwide of whom 250,000 die annually. The epigenome is a set of heritable modifications and tags that affect the genome without changing the intrinsic DNA sequence. These marks include DNA methylation, modifications to histone proteins around which DNA is wrapped and expression of noncoding RNA. Alt...

DNA methylation in childhood asthma: an epigenome-wide meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND DNA methylation profiles associated with childhood asthma might provide novel insights into disease pathogenesis. We did an epigenome-wide association study to assess methylation profiles associated with childhood asthma. METHODS We did a large-scale epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) within the Mechanisms of the Development of ALLergy (MeDALL) project. We examined epigenome-w...

Antifungals in severe asthma.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Despite guideline-based treatment, many patients with severe asthma continue to have uncontrolled disease. Fungal allergy is being increasingly recognized in the pathogenesis of severe asthma. Limited data exist on the approach to treatment of fungal asthma. This review summarizes existing evidence on the use of antifungal agents in allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABP...

Diurnal variation in asthma.

It has been known for many hundreds of years that asthma is worse at night. Sir John Floyer in his classic 'Treatise of the Asthma' (1698) wrote: 'I have observed the fit always to happen after Sleep in the Night when Nerves are filled with windy Spirits, and the heat of the bed has rarified the Spirits and Humours'. l Although these exacerbations are a well established clinical phenomenon, the...

[Severe asthma].