Asthma is a major burden to the Australian community, yet there are many gaps in our knowledge of the development of asthma in adults and persistence of childhood asthma.  Regular follow-up of cohorts from childhood to adulthood is the best method to examine these factors, but such data area is lacking due to difficulties in conducting long-term studies.  The Tasmanian Asthma Study (TAS) is recognised as one of the three resources of such data in the world.  In 1968 all 7-year-old Tasmanian children (n=8,585) were studied and 1349 with asthma were identified. 

We are now studying all these people 36 years later to identify childhood factors that influence respiratory health in middle age.  Although 70% of the 1968 participants still reside in Tasmania, the others are spread across the country with 8% residing in Queensland.  It is important that we include those who have migrated from Tasmania to avoid any bias related to healthy migrant effects.  The application is to fund follow up in those who are now living in Queensland, which will provide a collaborative opportunity for the Asthma Foundation of Queensland and the Royal Brisbane and Gold Coast Hospitals to be part of a study that has both local and international significance.   

“Molecular basis of maternal effects in allergic asthma” - Mr M Ferreira To investigate the molecular basis underlying the maternal effect that has been shown to increase asthma risk, we shall measure the methylation state of the gene encoding the beta chain of the immunoglobulin E high affinity reception (FCERIB) in DNA extracted from white blood cells of 20 trios (two parents and one child).  This will enable us to compare the methylation pattern between paternally and maternally inherited alleles. 

This will be one of the first studies conducted on the epigenetics of asthma.  Many genetic studies have suggested the FCERIB is an imprinted gene in humans and that this may explain the maternal effects identified by epidemiological studies of allergic disease.  In spite of this, to date, no study has been reported that investigates whether FCERIB is in fact subjected to imprinting.  To our knowledge, this will be the first study to specifically address this issue.  Therefore, we hope this study will finally confirm or refute a hypothesis that was raised over 10 years ago.  If FCERIB turns out not to be a classical imprinted gene, our study design will still be able to identify whether it is subjected to more complex epigenetic mechanisms of control. 

This will provide a valuable insight into the epigenetic regulation of human complex diseases and of asthma in particular.  If epigenetic mechanisms do turn out to play an important role in the regulation of asthma, then “epigenetic therapy” will become a plausible option, as already considered for other diseases such as cancer.  We are, however, still at the very infancy of a fascinating new field.  Our contribution will certainly stimulate other researchers to pursue this area.   

“Randomised controlled trial of length of oral prednisolone to reduce morbidity in acute exacerbations of childhood asthma” - Associate Professor Anne Chang 

The project is entirely focused on childhood asthma, and will undoubtedly contribute directly and indirectly to the treatment of asthma in Queensland and Australian asthma by:

1.     Determining if a longer course of oral corticosteroids reduces the morbidity of mild and moderate acute childhood asthma exacerbations through a randomised placebo controlled double blind study;

2.     Defining the influence of human metapneumovirus as well as other known common respiratory viruses on the severity of asthma exacerbations and the symptom of cough; and

 3.     Provision of information on the morbidity of asthma exacerbations on Queensland children and their carers.