Natural relaxant may help asthma

Scientists say a substance which acts naturally to open airways could be used to protect against asthma.

Duke University Medical Center researchers found mice with asthma had too little of the chemical, which relaxes airways so people can breathe.

Asthma research has previously tended to focus on what might cause airways to become constricted.

The researchers, writing in Science, said their findings could lead to new ways of treating the condition. The natural compound, called nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), a molecule in the nitric oxide (NO) family, which keeps airways open.

Source BBC News