The cause of allergic asthma attacks has been solved

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Scientists from the Medical University of Vienna have conducted research that has helped solve one of the causes of allergic asthma attacks. According to experts, specialized T-lymphocytes in the lungs are to blame.

Allergic asthma is a chronic condition that affects 70 to 100 million Europeans. It serves as a kind of protective reaction in the lungs, triggered by allergens originating from grasses, trees and ragweed pollen, which leads to wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. The study is the first to show that Th2-TRMs persist in the lungs for more than 600 days, suggesting that once memory is established in the respiratory tract after a first episode of allergic asthma, these T cells are maintained throughout life.

In a mouse experiment, the scientists studied Th2-TRMs in the lungs of mice with allergic asthma during remission and monitored them after exposure to an allergen. Once most of the T cells in the subjects were destroyed, the immune cells were blocked to prevent them from moving out of the lungs. These results explain why most patients with the condition remain with symptoms for their entire lives, and that if people are constantly exposed to an allergen, the number of Th2-TRMs increases further, leading to more severe symptoms.