A decisive step has just been taken in the development of a vaccine against a pathology that affects nearly 4 million French people: allergic asthma. The introduction of this treatment could radically improve the lives of many patients.
It is a very concrete hope that is looming for the French suffering from allergic asthma. A team of researchers from Inserm, CNRS and Toulouse III-Paul Sabatier University announced in the journal Allergy that they are taking a decisive step in the development of a vaccine against this chronic disease which affects nearly 4 million people in France, both adults and children. Their creation, a serum called “Kinoid”, has shown excellent results on mice and will be able to enter a test phase on humans in the coming months. Once it is operational and validated by health authorities, it could greatly improve the daily lives of many patients.
In people suffering from allergic asthma, exposure to the substance that makes them react (house dust mites, pollens, grasses, etc.) “a cascade of reactions resulting in hyperresponsiveness of the airways and overproduction of mucus” as the Inserm press release reminds us. The vaccine proposed by the researchers works by permanently regulating the triggering of bronchial inflammation, thus preventing the patient from experiencing the symptoms of his allergy. Professor Gilles Garcia, president of the Asthma & Allergies association, talks about a “absolutely magical ambition behind this vaccine.”
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More and more cases of allergic asthma are observed in the population
Between 2003 and 2022, the number of French people having had an asthma attack during the year rose from 4.4% to 6.7%. Already in 2011, a national plan was proposed to counter an increase of almost 40% in 15 years of cases. This is due, among other things, to changes in air quality. At present the management of the disease is done thanks to Salbutamol, the active molecule of the famous Ventolin, which acts on the symptoms of the crisis by dilating the bronchi. Moderate asthma can also be relieved thanks to a background treatment by cortisone inhalation. For the most severe cases, restrictive and expensive treatments are essential for the moment waiting for the marketing of a vaccine.
According to the researchers, “Kinoid” could also help prevent other disabling allergic pathologies. They point out good results on eczema and certain food allergies.