"Lung On A Chip" Promises Effective Asthma Treatment
I read an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal, said recently that a new technology that has the promise of bringing more effective asthma drugs to the market has been developed by the pharmaceutical giant - Merck & Company.
The process of a "lung on a chip"--miniaturizing human lung functions on a microchip-- would bypasses the need for animal testing of asthma and other respiratory drugs. Says Donald Ingber, the founding director of the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering in an interview with the Harvard Gazette, that the new technique is better than animal testing since "animal disease doesn't faithfully replicate asthma for instance, the condition is uniquely human."
The Wall Street Journal continues by saying the way "the model works is that scientists are binding together important cells that make up a lung, then they went about recreating the organ's functions. The mini-lung consists of a see-through strip of silicone rubber about the size of a memory stick, with tiny, hollow channels through which air and fluid can pass," like breathing, the walls of cells can relax and contract, thanks to the application of suction.
The Journal cautions, however "that the technology is not ready for widespread adoption-regulators have yet to allow it for use in deciding whether a drug will be tested on humans. However, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the Food and Drug Administration, (FDA) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency are all funding further research at Wyss where the 'lung on a chip' will be combined with nine other organ chips into a whole 'human body on a chip,' that could allow scientists to test drugs' effects on the entire body's physiology."
Read more about Lung on a Chip at here
For over 25 years, I've assisted my NYC patients overcome a variety of asthma and other respiratory problems. For all your asthma questions, please contact me for a consultation. Dr. Arthur M. Lubitz, allergist/immunologist @ 212-247-7447. Together we can set up an asthma treatment plan that's effective and easy to follow.