22/12/2016
By using a non-invasive magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy approach, it has been shown that obese asthmatics have a different phenotype compared to subjects with asthma or obesity. The phenotype summarizes "the characteristics of an organism resulting from the interaction of its genetic constitution and the environment", allowing, inter alia, to define the personal characteristics of the patients pointing towards personalized medicine. The results have been reported in a study coordinated by a research group at the Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, National Research Council (ICB-CNR) of Pozzuoli (Italy), and has been published in the "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology".
"Asthma is a multifactorial disease that affects approximately 350 million people, and its phenotypes (i.e., potential interpersonal differences) depend on genetic factors, state of inflammation, the presence of other diseases, demographic characteristics, age of onset of symptoms, etc.," says Andrea Motta of the ICB-CNR, who directed the group. "About half of asthmatics are overweight or obese, and an increasing number of studies shows a close link between obesity and asthma. This is a important socio-economic problem because both asthma and obesity are on the rise worldwide. In addition, obesity makes asthma harder to treat pharmacologically, and there is evidence that obese patients with asthma may have a reduced response to treatment with corticosteroids. For greater effectiveness of therapies, the various asthma phenotypes should be characterized to favor more personalized therapeutic approaches. By using NMR spectroscopy and statistical analysis we have shown that highly reliable mathematical models can be obtained from the metabolic profile of the exhaled breath condensate, which are very helpful for identifying the metabolic alterations that characterize the asthma-obese phenotype".
The study has been coauthored by prof. Mauro Maniscalco [Clinical Scientific Institutes of Maugeri Foundation, Telese (BN) and Santa Maria della Pietà Hospital, Casoria (NA)] and prof. Cristiana Stellato (University of Salerno).
"Our method is very sensitive and is able to assess the contribution of the various components that characterize a phenotype, adding support to personalized drug therapies by providing the asthmatic patients with treatments set exclusively on their needs," says Motta.
Who: Icb-Cnr of Pozzuoli
What: development of non-invasive metabolic analysis using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (Nmr), to identify phenotypic differences in obese subjects with asthma, who often have a reduced response to drug treatment. Study published in the "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology": Maniscalco et al. Coexistence of obesity and asthma determines a distinct respiratory metabolic phenotype. DOI: 10.1016/j. jaci. 2016.08.038.
For information: Andrea Motta, Icb-Cnr of Pozzuoli; tel. 081 8675228/8675226 (Lab); e-mail: andrea.motta@icb.cnr.it
Responsabile Unità Ufficio stampa:
Marco Ferrazzoli
marco.ferrazzoli@cnr.it
ufficiostampa@cnr.it
06 4993 3383