http://ansa.it/main/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2005-11-06_1893482.html

" Never grwoth factor raises risk in chidlren, researcher say  (ANSA) -
Rome, November 6 - Italian researchers have made a key breakthrough in
the study of the causes of asthma in children .

Rome researchers have found that nerve growth factor (NGF) plays a key
role in making children susceptible to the disease .

Asthma experts from Rome's Universita Cattolica and the National
Research Council (CNR) worked with a team from Miami University to
gauge NGF levels in newborn children .

They found that NGF was very high in children that developed a common
respiratory illness called bronchiolitis .

The disease affects the tiny airways, called bronchioles, that lead to
the lungs. As these become inflamed, they swell and fill with mucus,
making it difficult for the child to breathe .

Bronchiolitis is a mild illness that usually retreats after two years
of age but in some cases it can lead to full-blown asthma, affecting
children as old as ten .

Asthma is a chronic lung condition, characterized by wheezing,
coughing, shortness of breath and chest tightness .

There is a general trend of increased deaths and hospitalizations from
asthma in all the industrialized countries of the world .

The causes of the link between broncholitis and asthma have hitherto
been unknown. "We knew there was a link between the two and decided to
try to find the substance that caused it," said Luca Tortorolo of the
Universita' Cattolica .

"Elevated levels of NGF appear to predispose children to develop the
longer-lasting condition," he said .

Luigi Aloe of CNR's Neurobiology Institute said "NGF is stimulated by
inflammation processes caused by the infection. What we have discovered
is that it appear to alter the development of the respiratory system
over the course of time, affecting the neuro-immuno response for many
years later" .

He said NGF appeared to act on nerve cells and cells in the immune
system, confirming findings made with laboratory animals .

The Italian-American study hs been published in the prestigious
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. NGF was
discovered in the 1950s by Italian researcher Rita Levi Montalcini ."