Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1543258
New findings on mechanisms linking the brain and lungs in asthma; and A rapid, machine-learning model for differentiating asthma and COPD in emergency settings; and COVID-19 infection increases risk of respiratory diseases but vaccination can be protective. The biological pathways that connect stress with disease progression are not fully understood, according to an article in The Scientist. Inhalation February 2026 39 BACK PAGE New findings on mechanisms linking the brain and lungs in asthma e biological pathways that con- nect stress with disease progression are not fully understood, according to an article in e Scientist. How- ever, a recent study is providing information about the ways path- ways linking the brain, immune system and lungs may drive stress-induced increases in dis- ease severity and provide new tar- gets to improve the management of asthma. Melissa Rosenkranz, PhD, a neuroscientist at the Uni- versity of Wisconsin, Madison and her team published the findings in Brain, Behavior and Immunity. Methods e study enrolled 36 participants (25 female), ages 19 to 45 years (mean 25.92), who had a physi- cian diagnosis of mild asthma. Of those, 28 were final participants. To begin the investigation, par- ticipants took the Trier Social Stress Test, which combines two common human phobias: pub- lic speaking and mental math. Next, the participants provided salivary samples for measurements of cortisol and underwent posi- tron emission tomography (PET) scans to assess brain activity. Next, they received an inhaled allergen challenge to provoke a controlled asthmatic response then markers of inflammation were measured in their airways. Results e researchers were surprised to find the stress test itself did not affect the ways participants' lungs responded to the allergen, explained e Scientist. Instead, the article noted, variation in indi- viduals' physiological responses to the stressor predicted differences in allergen-induced inflammation. Participants who had greater sal- ivary cortisol responses also had larger increases in activity within brain regions responsible for pro- cessing fear and social stress. In addition, the elevated stress responses were associated with greater airway expression of the inflammatory protein interleukin- 23A. IL-23A is a component of the 17 immune pathway, which traditionally has been associated with autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthri- tis. Recently however, the 17 pathway has been implicated in the pathogenesis of asthma. Tradi- tionally, the 2 pathway has been associated with asthma and other allergic responses. Challenges and future studies e links among stress, brain activity and the 17 path- way may have implications for improving asthma management, Rosenkranz believes. "It allows us a pharmacological target," she said. With respect to stress, she added, "Maybe drugs that are able to modify immune responses in the 17 pathway might be more effective—rather than targeting the traditional 2 pathway." However, the TH17 pathway also poses a concern due to its pro- duction of IL-17, a proinflam- matory molecule that promotes glucocorticoid insensitivity. While this could reduce physiological responses to naturally occurring cortisol, it might also decrease the effectiveness of corticosteroid medications used to treat asthma. "is is one of the reasons it's problematic that stress is priming this 17 response in the airway," commented Rosenkranz. e findings relate to her previ- ous work on the effects of psy- chological interventions, like mindfulness training, on asthma symptoms and other types of inflammatory responses. Next, she and her team want to inves- tigate whether training in mind- fulness could impact lung biology through [the 17 pathway] and decrease stress, thereby reducing priming of the 17 response to