{"674829":{"#nid":"674829","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Asthma\u0027s New Treatment Frontier","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EAsthma impacts more than 40 million Americans, and 10% of the world\u2019s population.\u0026nbsp;However, current anti-inflammatory treatments only partially control the disease\u2019s symptoms.\u0026nbsp;Now,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ELiang Han,\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Ean associate professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Ehas been\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/reporter.nih.gov\/project-details\/10856495\u0022\u003Eawarded a $2.47M grant by the National Institute of Health\u003C\/a\u003E to study the role our nervous system plays in asthma\u0026nbsp;\u2014 and the potential for new treatments. The grant will fund five years of research, with work beginning this spring.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cAsthma is typically considered an allergic inflammatory disease,\u201d Han says, \u201cand so the majority of research has previously focused on immune responses. But there is emerging evidence that the nervous system plays a critical role in the disease.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EHan highlights that our lungs are full of sensory nerves, which help monitor their internal state, and play an important role in regulating our breathing patterns and respiratory system. Vagal sensory neurons help send information from the lungs to the brain.\u0026nbsp;Recent data collected by\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EYanyan Xing\u003C\/strong\u003E, a former postdoctoral researcher in the Han lab and now a scientist at Empress Therapeutics, suggested that blocking a group of vagal sensory neurons stopped the development of asthma symptoms in mice.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cSince these sensory neurons are\u0026nbsp;responsible for responses like coughing, bronchoconstriction, and mucus\u0026nbsp;secretion, all of which are asthma symptoms, we want to investigate whether blocking these neurons can help inhibit asthma in humans,\u201d Han says. \u201cIf so, this might prove a promising treatment avenue for asthma.\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe nervous system connection\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EIn her lab at Georgia Tech,\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/liang-han\u0022\u003EHan\u2019s research\u003C\/a\u003E team investigates the role the nervous system plays in creating and behavioral responses, and how that contributes to chronic diseases.\u0026nbsp; \u201cWe want to understand how the nervous system receives, transmits, and interprets various stimuli to induce physiological and behavioral responses,\u201d she explains.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EThis year, Han also received a\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/itching-answers-liang-han-receives-nsf-grant-dig-deeper-sensory-circuits\u0022\u003E$550k grant from the National Science Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E to investigate the neural circuit controlling itch sensation. The research has the potential to uncover new treatments for sensory conditions like chronic itch.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Liang Han awarded $2.47M NIH Grant to Study Nervous System\u0027s Role in Asthma "}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAsthma impacts more than 10% of the world\u2019s population, but current anti-inflammatory treatments only partially control the disease. Now, with a $2.47M grant, \u003Cstrong\u003ELiang Han\u003C\/strong\u003E is exploring the role our nervous systems play, potentially leading to new treatments.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Han will investigate whether blocking specific neurons can help inhibit asthma \u2014 which may provide a new avenue for developing treatments."}],"uid":"35599","created_gmt":"2024-05-21 14:21:13","changed_gmt":"2024-06-10 15:44:10","author":"sperrin6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-05-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-05-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"674049":{"id":"674049","type":"image","title":"The Han Lab: (from left to right) Liang Han, Katy Lawson, Rossie Nho, William Hancock","body":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Han Lab: (from left to right) Liang Han, Katy Lawson, Rossie Nho, William Hancock\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1716301460","gmt_created":"2024-05-21 14:24:20","changed":"1716301460","gmt_changed":"2024-05-21 14:24:20","alt":"The Han Lab: (from left to right) Liang Han, Katy Lawson, Rossie Nho, William Hancock","file":{"fid":"257515","name":"Han Lab photo 2024 (1).jpeg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/05\/21\/Han%20Lab%20photo%202024%20%281%29.jpeg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/05\/21\/Han%20Lab%20photo%202024%20%281%29.jpeg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":3307240,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/05\/21\/Han%20Lab%20photo%202024%20%281%29.jpeg?itok=RlZwF5PQ"}}},"media_ids":["674049"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"66220","name":"Neuro"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"},{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"192253","name":"cos-neuro"},{"id":"172970","name":"go-neuro"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"}],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71891","name":"Health and Medicine"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWritten by \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sperrin6@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESelena Langner\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}