Bronchial asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airways of the lungs. This respiratory disease is common and affects a lot of people. Some of the signs and symptoms of this disease include wheezing, tightness of the chest, shortness of breath, and coughing. However, the frequency of the episodes varies in people. Some patients might have multiple episodes per day, while some might have a few episodes per week. On the other hand, some people only have episodes at night. The cause of bronchial asthma isn’t known yet, although it is thought that, it’s caused by a combination of both genetic and environmental causes. Examples of the environmental causes include factors air pollution, chemical pollution, allergens and so on. In addition, episodes could be triggered by some drugs, such as aspirin and beta blockers. Bronchial asthma is diagnosed based on the signs and symptoms presented by the patient, the response of the patient to treatment, and spirometry results. Asthma can be classified based on different reasons. For example, it can be categorized based on the frequency of the signs and symptoms, it can also be classified based on the expiratory volume in one second, and the peak expiratory flow rate. There is currently no cure for asthma, however, there are medications that can be taken to manage this respiratory disease. The symptoms of this disease can be prevented by avoiding the triggers of the disease. The triggers vary, and solely depends on the individual affected. Examples of these triggers include pollutants, irritants, allergens. This can be prevented by taking corticosteroids. Other medications that works are long-acting beta-agonists, anti-leukotriene agents and so on. Stem cell therapy remains a potential treatment option for this disease. As stem cells have an immunomodulatory effect. In addition, signaling cells, also known as exosomes are also a potential option.
What Are The Triggers Of Bronchial Asthma?
Bronchial asthma is caused by some specific triggers. These triggers differ from person to person. Below are some of the common inducers of bronchial asthma;
- Pollution: Pollution is one of the most common inducers of this disease. There are different types of pollutants, however, in this case, the culprit is air pollutants. These ranges from materials such as smoke, fumes from vehicles, and even second-hand
- Infections: Infections such as flu, pneumonia can induce episodes of bronchial asthma. This occurs especially when the infections are severe.
- Allergens: There are some food materials that can trigger episodes of bronchial asthma. These food allergens vary in people. Examples of food allergens include peanuts, and so on.
- Exercise and stress: Exercise is one of the most common causes of bronchial asthma. Exercise-induced asthma is actually a type of asthma. This occurs when an individual experiences symptoms of asthma, after some physical exertion. Also, emotional stress could also be a trigger for asthma. Patients with this kind of asthma must avoid things that would stress them physically, and emotionally.
- Weather: People tend to have more attacks in abrupt weather change. It also occurs when there is a lot of dry air and those that play sports during winter.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Bronchial Asthma?
The common signs and symptoms of Bronchial asthma include the following;
- Shortness of breath
- Chest tightening
- Wheezing
- Prolonged and excessive coughing, especially at night.
What Is An Asthma Attack?
An asthma attack can be described as a sudden worsening of the signs and symptoms of bronchial asthma. During an asthma attack, the bronchial lining undergoes inflammation and might obstruct respiration. Patients do present with symptoms such as shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and so on.
What Are The Causes Of Bronchial Asthma?
The cause of bronchial asthma isn’t known yet, although it is thought that, it’s caused by a combination of both genetic and environmental causes. Examples of the environmental causes include factors air pollution, chemical pollution, allergens and so on.
What Are The Risk Factors Of Bronchial Asthma?
These are factors that increase the chances of developing this disease. These factors include the following;
- Family history: Having a family member that is affected by this disease is a risk factor. A patient that has a family history of asthma is more likely to develop the disease.
- Obesity
- Triggers
- Smoking
- Allergens: There are some food materials that can trigger episodes of bronchial asthma. These food allergens vary in people. Examples of food allergens include peanuts, and so on.
How Is Bronchial Asthma Diagnosed?
Since episodes of asthma are spontaneous and don’t always occur when in the physician’s office. It’s important to give the doctor a vivid description of the signs and symptoms of the disease. Also, details of the trigger of the disease should also be given. Below are some of the asthma tests;
- Spirometry: This is a lung function test that evaluates the breathing capacity of the patient. Basically, it checks for how well the patient breathes. The patient is made to breathe into a spirometer.
- Peak expiratory flow: This test is done by making use of the peak flow meter. This works by forcefully exhaling into a tube. The force with which the air is blown into the lungs is then evaluated. This test can be performed at home, and it helps in monitoring the progress of the disease.
- Chest X-ray: This is done to exempt other diseases, especially there are many diseases with similar symptoms with asthma.
Stem Cell Therapy Of Asthma
Stem cells are a special kind of cells in that they can regenerate, and also repair damaged tissues. In addition to this, stem cells also have immune modulatory functions. Mesenchymal stem cells are useful in the treatment of bronchial asthma because of their ability to regenerate and repair or replace the injured or dead lung tissues. In addition, the stem cells also increase the ability of the patient to resist infections and other forms of allergy. Since stem cells are immune modulators, they reduce asthmatic episodes that are due to allergic triggers.
References
Asthma triggers!. (2000). Asthma Magazine, 5(1), pp.13-36.
Cho, K. (2016). Stem cell therapy in animal models of allergic airway diseases. Allergy, Asthma & Respiratory Disease, 4(3), p.167.
Mascarenhas, S., Avalos, B. and Ardoin, S. (2012). An Update on Stem Cell Transplantation in Autoimmune Rheumatologic Disorders. Current Allergy and Asthma Reports, 12(6), pp.530-540.
Symptoms of asthma. (2005). Asthma Magazine, 10(2), pp.31-32.
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