Researchers at Pitt and UPMC Children’s have made a major advancement in the diagnosis and treatment of asthma, the most common chronic childhood disease.
Despite how common it is, asthma does not have a “one-size-fits-all” treatment. The team of researchers has developed a non-invasive nasal swab test to diagnose a specific asthma subtype, or endotype, in children. Accurate diagnosis of endotype is essential to providing the best possible treatment, but until now, lesser-studied types of asthma have been difficult to diagnose.
Research at Work
Senior author and Chief of Pulmonary Medicine Juan Celedón, MD, DrPH, and his collaborators — including first authors Molin Yue, MS, and Kristina Gaietto, MD, MPH, who won first place at Grantmakers 2024 — collected and analyzed nasal samples from 459 youth across three studies, and they were able to successfully detect the patient’s endotype from the samples.
Equipped with an efficient and non-invasive test, providers no longer need to rely on imperfect tools or invasive procedures to acquire this critical piece of information. This breakthrough could lead to more personalized treatments and, subsequently, better outcomes for children. The team’s findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on January 2, 2025.
Read more about the details of this study, including insights from Dr. Celedón, in the official press release on upmc.com.
Fueling Innovation in This Moment
UPMC Children’s Hospital Foundation is currently in a comprehensive fundraising campaign entitled This Moment, with the goal of transforming pediatric health care as we know it. Dr. Celedón and his team embody the innovation, ingenuity, and commitment to children’s health we aim to power through this campaign.
For every breakthrough our scientists make, there are numerous studies still underway that have the potential to revolutionize care and improve the health of our kids. When a lack of funding poses a threat to their success, philanthropy is the fuel that can propel these studies forward.
Interested in supporting pediatric research? Donate today.