Asthma Cure Found in Osteoporosis Drug; Treatment May Be Available in 5 or 6 Years, According to Scientists

An existing drug used to treat the bone disease osteoporosis can be available in five to six years to prevent and cure the lung affliction experienced by asthma sufferers.

In a joint research by scientists from the Wales' Cardiff University, London' King's College, and the US Mayo Clinic, they found that calcium sensing receptor (CaSR) have a role in causing the illness. The breakthrough findings were published last April 22 at the journal of American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Calcilytics, a class of drugs used to treat osteoporosis, can reverse the symptoms of asthma, and according to The Independent, the research work could potentially be used to create new medicine for people with chronic bronchitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

"If we can prove that calcilytics are safe when administered directly to the lung in people, then in five years we could be in a position to treat patients and potentially stop asthma from happening in the first place," said Daniela Riccardi, one of the researchers and professor at Cardiff University School.

The scientists used mice models and airway tissue from humans for drug testing and found the results to be "incredibly exciting," according to UK Express.

"For the first time we have found a link between airways inflammation, which can be caused by environmental triggers - such as allergens, cigarette smoke and car fumes - and airways twitchiness in allergic asthma," Ricardi said.

"Our paper shows how these triggers release chemicals that activate CaSR in airway tissue and drive asthma symptoms like airway twitchiness, inflammation, and narrowing. Using calcilytics, nebulised directly into the lungs, we show that it is possible to deactivate CaSR and prevent all of these symptoms."

The discovery will allow scientists to know and address the causes of asthma symptoms, said Dr. Samantha Walker of Asthma UK, an organization that helped fund the research.

"This hugely exciting discovery enables us, for the first time, to tackle the underlying causes of asthma symptoms. Five percent of people with asthma don't respond to current treatments so research breakthroughs could be life changing for hundreds of thousands of people," Walker stated.

"If this research proves successful we may be just a few years away from a new treatment for asthma, and we urgently need further investment to take it further through clinical trials. Asthma research is chronically underfunded; there have only been a handful of new treatments developed in the last 50 years so the importance of investment in research like this is absolutely essential," the Belfast Telegraph reported.