Children to be given germ pills to combat asthma.

April 28, 2006

Dirt pills may help to ease kids' asthmaEan Higgins27apr06CHILDREN are to be given a "dirt pill" to provide the germs they missed out on as toddlers as part of a revolutionary treatment for asthma.Researcher Susan Prescott said asthmatic children would receive daily medication that would include a mixture of different strains of probiotic bacteria and antioxidants. The bacteria will replicate the germs to which, it is thought, the children did not receive enough exposure at an early age. As a

result, they failed to develop immunity and went on to suffer allergic reactions, including asthma. Professor Prescott, of Perth's Princess Margaret Hospital for Children and the University of Western Australia, is recruiting 180 asthmatic children aged between seven and 12 for the study. Some will receive the dirt pill, containing a "friendly bacteria ... plus antioxidants normally present in a healthy diet". Others will be given a placebo. Researchers will monitor the degree to which symptoms improve, including frequency of asthmatic attacks, exercise tolerance and breathing capacity. Professor Prescott said if the experiment worked it could lead to an improvement in the lives of millions of young asthmatics. It is the latest attempt to counter a rising trend of childhood asthma in affluent countries, which is widely thought to be a product of inadequate early exposure to germs, and a diet with insufficient fruit and other

antioxidant-rich foods. A parallel study will test an even more intriguing theory -- that exposure to more germs could reduce the chances of pregnant mothers passing allergies on to their babies. Among the first subjects of the experiment will be Perth seven-year-old, Kelsey Ruscoe. As a toddler, her mother Leechelle, a kindergarten teacher, kept a clean house, and the family did not have pets. A year ago, and without warning, Kelsey started coughing, her breathing became laboured and she went pale. "It really hurt my chest, I was only halfway breathing," she said. Tests indicate Kelsey is asthmatic as a result of an allergy to dust mites and cats. Professor Prescott said the treatment she will receive as part of her study could increase her immunity. "Some kinds of exposure can actually protect you. Cats, for example, have lots of bugs," she said. privacy terms © The Australian "Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest of life by the power of the spirit." - Aurobindo.

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