This leaves the layer riddled with holes, allowing the particles to come into contact with lung tissue. Dr Clive Robinson, leader of the international team that made the discovery, said the finding offers hope for the treatment of all allergies, but it was the application to asthma that was most exciting. That's why we're very excited about the prospect of preventing the disease occurring in people who are at risk. Although a certain cause for asthma has proved elusive, doctors are clear on the workings of the disease. One in seven children now suffer from the disease in the UK and it is on the rise worldwide.
Factors known to be involved include pollution and allergies such as hayfever.
Dust mites have long been known to contribute to triggering an attack, but it was not known why some people were allergic to them while others were not. The St George's team discovered how dust mite faeces break through the body's defences to attack lung tissue, allowing them to trigger an allergic response. The discovery will allow doctors to work on new medicines, although they may not be on the market for some time. But we know we can stop the process we've discovered in the laboratory, so we're very hopeful we can change that into a useful treatment. He said two groups of patients would benefit - those who were at high risk of asthma could take medicine to prevent the condition developing, and those who already had it could take medicine to control and possibly even reverse it.