Will Soy Isoflavones Prevent Wheezing in Risky Infants?

“We will give babies a nutritional supplement from soy if they have a common genetic variation that promotes more allergic airway inflammation, especially around viral illness.

As allergy and viral illness can increase the risk of asthma, this trial is important. We believe that interrupting allergic airway inflammation around viral illness in the first year of life may prevent progression to asthmatic type airway inflammation.”

Previous study found that asthma risk increased 17 times when children who had bronchiolitis in the first two years of life also had a common variation of the Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) gene.

Children with this genetic variation were 12 times more risky to develop asthma after any lower respiratory tract infections requiring medical contact early in life. Around 60 percent of the population has this genetic variation.

Variant of PAI-1 gene that produces more PAI-1 protein was not linked to a higher asthma risk. The risk of asthma and worse lung function raised only with the combination of the genetic variant and a severe viral respiratory illness early in life.

Previous lab-based research and human studies also found that soy isoflavones can decrease the product of the PAI-1 gene in blood, which leads Drs. Kumar, Pongracic and Cho to expect that soy isoflavones might be able to reduce allergic airway inflammation in young children with this genetic variation.

Soy isoflavones will be given as a supplement in a powder form mixed in either breast milk, formula, or water to infants 2-6 months old who are at high risk for developing asthma. Each infant will be enrolled for two years. Airway inflammation and recurrent wheezing, will be compared against a placebo group.

“One of the most exciting aspects of our study is that the intervention does not require medication. We know that the soy supplement is safe, easy to consume and costs just pennies a day,” said Dr. Pongracic, Division Head of Allergy and Immunology at Lurie Children’s and Professor of Pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

“We are proud to continue to be part of these research efforts to help inner city children who are disproportionately affected by asthma,” said Dr. Pongracic. “Our collective research has truly moved the needle toward understanding asthma exacerbations and developing novel treatment strategies for these children.”

Cockroach allergen exposure is a major risk factor for severe asthma in urban children and that programs to decrease exposures to cockroaches and other household allergens reduce children’s asthma symptoms and healthcare visits.

Omalizumab, a drug that reduces immunoglobulin E, can prevent seasonal asthma attacks. Scientists also identified molecular pathways that evolve in the nasal passages of children with asthma who had colds that led to asthma attacks.

Source: Medindia