Chemical structure of small molecule PM-43I. Credit: D. Corry.

An invisible particle enters your lungs. The next thing you know breathing becomes difficult. 

You are having as asthma attack. Asthma is one of the most common and difficult to endure 

chronic conditions. About 30 million Americans experience asthma attacks and 3 million have 

a severe, therapy-resistant form of the disease. In some cases, the condition can be fatal.

"Despite the prevalence of asthma around the world, therapy for this condition has not 

significantly changed, with a few exceptions, in the last 70 to 80 years," said Dr. David Corry, 

professor of medicine-immunology, allergy and rheumatology at Baylor College of Medicine. 

"For the most part, we are still treating the symptoms of the disease, not the underlying 

causes. In this work we present a novel new way to target a pathway we think is at the core of 

this allergic condition."

Current treatments attempt to relieve typical asthma symptoms, namely the constriction of th

e airways so patients can breathe easily. Treatments may also include steroids to shut down 

the inflammation that scientists have thought for many decades underlies airway constriction. 

Inflammation of the airway leads to shortness of breath, and that can make people panic and 

head to the emergency room. Corry's laboratory has been studying asthma for about 20 

years. One of their interests is to better understand the molecular pathways that drive airway 

constriction.