FRIDAY, July 25 (HealthDay News) -- The first evidence linking
gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and asthma has been
discovered by Duke University Medical Center researchers. An
association between the two conditions was first noted in the
1970s, and since then studies have shown that between 50 percent
and 90 percent of asthma patients also experience GERD symptoms.
But the actual link between GERD and asthma hasn't been clear.
In experiments with mice, the Duke team found that inhaling tiny
amounts of stomach fluid that back up into the esophagus -- a
hallmark of GERD -- can cause immune system changes that lead to
asthma. The researchers placed miniscule amounts of gastric
fluid into the lungs of mice over an eight-week period. When
exposed to allergens, the immune systems of these mice responded
differently than those of mice that didn't have gastric fluid in
their lungs. The mice with gastric fluid in their lungs
developed what's known as a T-helper type 2 response, a type of
immune system reaction