Sudhakar Jha
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Written By: Sudhakar Jha | Published : September 11, 2018 10:16 PM IST
According to the study, asthma patients could monitor their biomarker chemicals during the day, to help inform optimum treatment times © Shutterstock
A new research from the University of Manchester, Britain has found that the human body clock could have a significant impact on the way doctors diagnose and treat asthma patients. The study found that the saliva of asthmatics were more than twice as likely to have more inflammatory cells, called eosinophils, in morning than in the afternoon.
Levels of eosinophils a marker in saliva are used for treatment in severe asthma patients. It has been known by both doctor and patients that the symptoms are at their worst in the morning.
"These research results are really exciting but at an early stage - our aim was to understand a bit more about how the body clock affects the biochemistry of a person with asthma," said lead author Hannah Durrington from The University of Manchester in the Britain in the study.
"But we are pleased because our work should help with the accurate diagnosis and treatment of asthma in the future. We feel it may also have important implications on other lung conditions, as well as outside respiratory medicine," she added in the statement.
According to her, asthma patients could monitor their biomarker chemicals during the day, to help inform optimum treatment times, just like the diabetics measure their glucose levels which allows them adjustment of doses in insulin.
The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, examined the saliva samples of over 300 severe asthmatics to come up with the findings.
Dr. Durrington added in the study, "Based on our results, different clinical decisions could be made depending on whether the patient is allocated a morning or afternoon appointment. And it also points towards opportunities for more personalised treatment for asthma care in the future."
