Morphometric analysis of normal airway structure in childhood and the influence of a history of asthma on this structure

Funded Activity Summary

The architectural structure of the airways of the lung is thought to have profound effects on airway function. Changes in this structure are believed to be partly responsible for limiting the flow of air into the lung in conditions such as constant wheezing, bronchitis and asthma. Pathological studies carried out on adult lungs have shown that the structure of the airways is indeed altered in patients with lung disease when compared with patients with no history of breathing difficulties. For example, the walls of the airways are much thicker in patients with lung disease. This thickening means that the airways are much narrower and therefore not able to carry as much air as in people with healthy lungs. In addition, the muscle within the airway wall, which is normally very sparse, is much denser in people with asthma and bronchitis. Thus, the airways can be squeezed closed more easily. It is not known if these changes are present in children who have lung disease. X-rays and sophisticated breathing tests suggest that these children may also have thicker walls and more muscle in their airways. The major difficulties in assessing whether such changes are present in children, is the lack of information on the normal structure in infants; how this changes as they grow to adulthood; or if there are any gender differences. This project aims to obtain this information from the airways of male and female children from 0-18 years. This information can then be used as a basis for comparison with the structure found in children with lung disease, in particular asthma, and therefore assist in making assessments as to the cause of their breathing difficulties. With more knowledge about these causes, we will be in a better position to design new and better treatments and produce ways of preventing them ever occurring.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2001

End Date: 01-01-2003

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $186,113.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Respiratory Diseases

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

age-related differences in human airway structure | airway pathophysiology | airway wall growth in infants and children | asthma | asthma and airway structure | computer-assisted morphometry | gender-related differences in human airway structure | human airway growth and development | quantification of airway wall structure | wheeze and airway structure

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