Antiretrovirals 'boost risk of childhood asthma'

05/07/2008

An intriguing new study has found that HIV-positive children who undergo antiretroviral treatment to manage their condition face a heightened risk of developing asthma.

America's Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) compared the used of asthma medication by children who are receiving HIV drugs with those who are not.

They found that about one third of the youngsters who were receiving anti-HIV medication also used asthma relievers, compared with just 11.5 per cent of those who were not on an antiretroviral programme.

Lead researcher William Shearer, professor of paediatrics and immunology at BCM in Houston, acknowledged that his team could not give a definitive explanation for the data, though he did put forward one theory.

"We think this occurs because important immune system components called CD4 cells increase in children treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy," he said, noting that CD4 cells are also associated with inflammation of lung tissues that accompanies asthma.

"This Aids model of asthma might help understand at a molecular level what is causing the current epidemic of asthma among children more generally."

According to the World Health Organisation, asthma leads to an estimated 180,000 deaths each year and is growing in prevalence by 50 per cent every decade - most likely due to heightened pollution levels.

But medical experts say the new study is unlikely to provoke a sea-change in attitudes towards paediatric Aids treatment, with countless studies upholding the life-prolonging benefits of antiretroviral drugs.


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