Gene Variation Ups Asthma Risk, but Coverage Wheezes

A genetic variation raises the risk of developing asthma by 60%, British scientists report -- but people hoping that the findings soon lead to better therapies shouldn't hold their breath.

The connection between the disease and the mutation, found in the ORMDL3 gene, is the strongest such link to date. However, teasing out the relationship between environmental influences -- such as air pollution and cigarette smoke -- will be difficult.

As the Telegraph noted,

... there have been many false dawns in the quest for better treatments. When scientists first began to locate the genetic traits for asthma more than a decade ago, commentators suggested that their work would lead to a cure for asthma within five years, a prediction that proved optimistic.

The *Telegraph's *careful analysis contrasts sharply with the Australian:

The link between the newfound gene and the disabling disorder is so strong, scientists could have a complete understanding of what causes asthma within three years, predicts the team leader British respiratory physician William Cookson.

And even worse than the Australian's decision to lead with that unjustifiably optimistic quote was the New Scientist's inexplicable suggestion that, when it comes to asthma, genes and environment are unconnected:

The finding adds to evidence for the role genetics – rather than environmental factors – plays in how children develop asthma, said
William Cookson at Imperial College, London, UK, who coordinated the multinational study.

Granted, both these quotes came from one of the study's authors -- but somehow I doubt that, if we could see the original words, they'd mean quite the same thing. As Miriam Moffit, one of Cookson's co-authors, said in the press release:

We are confident that we have discovered something new and exciting about childhood asthma.... These novel findings do not explain completely how asthma is caused, but they do provide a further part of the gene-environment jigsaw that makes up the disease. We and our colleagues are currently preparing even bigger studies to find other genes of smaller effect, and to relate these to environmental factors that protect against asthma.

Quite a few outlets picked up Moffit's quote, so there's really no excuse for sloppiness in the other stories. And such sloppiness isn't trivial: it raises the public's expectations unfairly, leading to a disappointment that is unfair to scientists.

Thus disillusioned, people end up greeting every proclamation with skepticism, and are less likely to support necessary research -- or, conversely, they believe what they read, and live in a fairy-tale world where cures for every disease are perpetually right around the corner. Neither outcome is acceptable.

Gene variation raises asthma risk by 60% [New Scientist]

Gene may solve childhood asthma puzzle [The Australian]

Gene may diagnose childhood asthma early [Telegraph]

Gene Linked With Childhood Asthma Is Identified, Giving Hope For New Therapies [Press Release]

Genetic variants regulating ORMDL3 expression contribute to the risk of childhood asthma [Nature]
*
Image: Brandy*