Prior Funding - Wegienka

"The role of hormones in asthma exacerbation in adult women"
Principal Investigator: Dr. Ganesa Wegienka
Institution: Henry Ford Health System

Women are more likely than men to ever have asthma, visit an emergency
department for asthma, be admitted to a hospital for asthma and die due to
asthma. Because of the gender differences, it is possible that hormones may be
responsible for these poor health outcomes. Amazingly, there is no evidence to
explain the relationship between hormones, immunity and lung function in
women. Investigations of the role of hormones in asthma frequency, severity
and outcomes in women have been plagued by small and select study
populations and poor hormone measures. This pilot study uses hormone and
immune measurements to examine the relationships between hormones and the
outcomes of various components of the immune system, as well as lung
function in a group of asthmatic and non asthmatic women.