Genetic factors may play a role in the acquisition of ABPA

October 8, 2014 admin Health Care

Most studies report a higher prevalence of one or more of these types of immune responses as the patients get older. This age effect probably represents longer exposure to the mold, progressive lung damage with impaired clearance, and a greater time period to develop sensitivity to A fumigatus. Our data support the increasing prevalence of ABPA with age, with the highest prevalence in patients aged 16 to 20 years, and a slight falloff beyond 20 years. A possible explanation of this observation is that ABPA most frequently affects the heavily Kamagra generic colonized, sicker patients who may die earlier. The older survivors have relatively less severe disease, and subsequently less of a tendency to acquire ABPA. It is also possible that genetic factors may play a role in the acquisition of ABPA, and may explain why some of the patients with milder disease acquire ABPA while others with severe lung disease do not. ECSF may be able to test these hypotheses at a later stage, when more genetic information on patients is collected in the database, and when analyses of causes of death and possible associations with ABPA can be undertaken.

Our results agree with those of other studies showing that CF patients who acquire ABPA tend to be older and have more severe lung disease. But as Brueton et al reported, younger, healthier subjects are not risk-free. In our study, about 10% of ABPA subjects had an FEV₁ > 100% of predicted, and 19% had an FVC > 100% of predicted. Therefore, good lung function is not absolutely protective against ABPA. Because the temporal relationship between diagnosis and treatment Canadian Pharmacy online was not available in this study, it may also reflect that a segment of the ABPA population reported had been treated and recovered lung function. The latter explanation is supported by Light et al, who showed a deterioration of FEV₁ after the diagnosis of ABPA, but a restoration of baseline function after treatment with prednisone. Only a longitudinal study of ABPA patients will be able to define its prognostic impact in CF.