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When studying areas such as disease, there are many factors involved and these often interact with each other in a complicated fashion. This can make it difficult to analyze the causes of the disease and to predict the effects of medication. Systems biology is the use of mathematical tools and computation to study biological systems such as the human body. One important example is the Human Genome Project, completed in the early 2000s. It has also successfully been used to model several diseases such as type 1 diabetes and Alzheimer’s.

In a recent review article, researchers looked at several ways systems biology has been used to study asthma and allergy. These ways included comparisons of the genes and gene expression, microbial flora and metabolics of affected and healthy individuals. Among other findings, they report a difference in the gut bacterial flora between the two groups. By combining these different approaches, the researchers think we will be able to gain a better understanding of asthma and allergy on several levels and also how people are affected differently by allergies.

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To better map how allergies and asthma manifest in the everyday life of patients more real-time data is needed. The researchers recommend making use of wearable technology and mobile health apps. This way, individuals can monitor their own blood pressure, glucose levels and so on. The data gathered can greatly improve our understanding of asthma and allergic diseases on all levels and lead to better treatments in the future.

Reference

Bunyavanich S, Schadt E. Systems biology of asthma and allergic diseases: a multiscale approach. The Journal Of Allergy And Clinical Immunology. (2015, Jan); 135(1): 31-42.