Aspirin-induced Asthma - Cause

Cause

The disorder is caused by an anomaly in the arachidonic acid cascade, which causes increased production of cysteinyl leukotrienes, a series of chemicals involved in the body's inflammatory response. When medications like NSAIDs or aspirin block the COX-1 enzyme, prostaglandin and thromboxane production is decreased, which causes the overproduction of leukotrienes and produces the severe asthma and allergy-like effects. Although the underlying cause is not fully understood, the attachment of platelets to certain leukocytes in the blood may contribute to the overproduction of leukotrienes.

There may be a relationship between aspirin-induced asthma and TBX21, PTGER2, and LTC4S.

In addition to aspirin, other vaso-dilators may induce the same reaction, such as alcohol.