Study links colds to asthma

Scientists have identified a sequence of biological events that could trigger life-threatening asthma attacks in people suffering from colds — a finding that holds the potential for developing more effective medicines.

In a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, researchers found that a small molecule, or ‘cytokine’, called IL-25 may play a key role in the effect that viruses causing colds have on people with asthma.

According to the World Health Organisation, 235m people suffer from asthma worldwide and the condition is the most common chronic disease among children. About half a million people in Ireland have asthma and at least one person dies from the disease every week.