‘Rescuing’ asthma sufferers with vitamin D

High-dose vitamin D to prevent progression from upper respiratory infections to asthma attacks (the Rescue-D study): A feasibility trial

Professor Adrian Martineau, Professor Christopher Griffiths and Professor Aziz Sheikh - Awarded £125,991

The UK has one of the highest rates of asthma deaths in Europe and Barts Health paediatricians have highlighted asthma as a local public health emergency.

Current approaches to prevention and management of asthma attacks are unsatisfactory. The team previously showed that taking vitamin D supplements not only boosts the immune system to prevent colds and other infections, but also cuts the risk of asthma attacks. As many people forget to take daily vitamin supplements, an alternative approach could be to take a big ‘rescue’ dose of vitamin D at the first sign of a cold to prevent it developing to trigger an asthma attack. With this award, the team will perform a feasibility study before seeking funds for a large definitive trial to test this new approach. This project will increase the understanding of the disease by examining how early intervention with vitamin D modifies the immunological process of acute viral infection and the development of asthma attacks.