| A substantial number
of patients with chronic stable asthma have Mycoplasma species,
Chlamydia species, or both in their airways, researchers have
found.
Dr. Richard J.
Martin, of the National Jewish Medical and Research Center,
Denver, Colorado, and colleagues note that chronic infection
may play a role in the pathophysiology of asthma. They used
PCR, culture and serology for Mycoplasma species, Chlamydia
species, and viruses from the nasopharynx, lung and blood
to compare 55 patients with chronic stable asthma with 11
control subjects.
The team reports
that 25 of the asthmatic patients had positive results for
a Mycoplasma species pathogen, compared with only one control
subject. Seven of the asthmatic subjects tested positive for
a Chlamydia species, and one of them had positive results
for both C. pneumoniae and M. pneumoniae. No controls were
positive for Chlamydia species. These pathogens were mostly
found on lung biopsy specimens or in bronchoalveolar lavage
(BAL) fluid.
"For the 55 asthmatic
subjects, 31 (56.4%) had positive results for either Mycoplasma
species, Chlamydia species, or both," the investigators report
in the April issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical
Immunology.
"For asthma, whether
Mycoplasma and Chlamydia species play a role in the pathophysiology
of this process needs further delineation as to localization
of the organisms and response to specific antimicrobial therapy,"
Dr. Martin and colleagues conclude. "However, if our findings
are correct, this opens another dimension for asthma pathophysiology
and eventually for new treatment options."
J Allergy Clin Immunol 2001;107:595-601
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