TWO studies claim to have settled an age-old debate on the role of certain white blood cells in asthma.
To investigate whether the hike in eosinophils seen during attacks is a cause of symptoms or a side effect, James Lee at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, and his team bred genetically modified mice that lacked these cells.
When they triggered asthma attacks in the modified mice, the animals did not experience the increased mucus production seen during attacks in normal mice. This suggests that eosinophils are integral in producing symptoms.
A similar study by Alison Humbles and colleagues at Harvard…
