Infants With Bronchiolitis Are Predisposed to Get This Disease

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have recently announced that a large number of infants who develop bronchiolitis are predisposed to contracting this disease. Bronchiolitis is one of them most common reasons that infants are admitted to the hospital. They estimate that approximately 25 out of every 1,000 babies that need to be admitted to the hospital are suffering from bronchiolitis. The bronchioles are part of our respiratory system. When bronchioles themselves are inflamed, it's called bronchiolitis.

Researchers at the University of Liverpool, Alder Hey Children's Hospital have made new discoveries about bronchiolitis. They determined that infants with this disease could have different immune responses. Infants who were suffering with more severe forms of bronchiolitis disease had different immune responses when compared to those infants who only had mild cases of bronchiolitis.

Their research is based upon the study of over 200 children under the age of two years old. Their research occurred over a five-year period of time. When these infants were admitted to the hospital, many had dangerously low blood oxygen levels and were taking over 50 breaths per minute but still couldn't get enough oxygen.

Our bodies make a substance called gamma interferon that helps us fight viral infections. Infants who had severe cases of bronchiolitis had less interferon (and substance P) moving through their airways than the infants who only had mild cases of broncholitis.

Scientists have limited knowledge about what substance P's role is within our bodies. They believe that it helps our bodies fight inflammation in our bodies.

Infants with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are at risk for getting bronchiolitis. RSV is one of the major causes of upper respiratory infections. Usually when an infant gets RSV its symptoms are the same as a typical cold. There are cases where a "cold" doesn't go away and it's later determined to be RSV. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has considered RSV to be the cause of most cases of bronchiolitis in infants.