04 Nov Asthma Increases DNA Damage

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Robert H. Schiestl, Ph.D.
Professor of Pathology, Environmental Health and Radiation Oncology
UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?

Dr. Schiesti: We studies whether asthma has any effect on peripheral blood and we found that it significantly increased DNA double strand breaks, single strand breaks, oxidative DNA damage, inflammation and oxidative protein damage.

Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Dr. Schiesti: That asthma is more damaging to the body than previously thought. Since oxidative DNA damage and oxidative protein damage is induced it would make sense to take antioxidants.

Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Dr. Schiesti: Whether antioxidants reduce the systemic effect from asthma. Whether our new medicine that induces DNA repair reduces such genotoxicity in the peripheral blood.

Citation:

IL-13 overexpression in mouse lungs triggers systemic genotoxicity in peripheral blood

 Aaron M. Chapman^, Daniel J. Malkin^,  Jessica Camacho, Robert H. Schiestl

Mutation Research/Fundamental and Molecular Mechanisms of Mutagenesis

Volume 769, November 2014, Pages 100–107

Last Updated on November 4, 2014 by Marie Benz MD FAAD