US NIH expands dataset to include asthma

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the US National Institutes of Health has expanded its collection of genetic and clinical data first made freely available to researchers worldwide last year, to include clinical and genetic information collected from three asthma research networks. In 2007, the NHLBI initiated SHARe, (SNP Health Association Resource), a web-based dataset which provides qualified researchers with free access to a wealth of data from multiple large population-based studies, starting with the Framingham Heart Study. This new expansion of the project, called SHARe-Asthma Resource Project is also funded by the NHLBI.

SHARP includes data on 2,332 people with asthma and 805 families whose DNA was tested for one million genetic variations. In addition, clinical data gathered during asthma clinical trials, such as lung function, allergy status and respiratory symptoms, are included in the database. In this way, SHARP will permit researchers to relate study participants' genetic variations to their clinical and laboratory test results, thereby enabling future discoveries of links between genes and health for asthma and other airway diseases. To protect the confidentiality of study participants who agreed to share their medical data, the database does not include any personal information, the Institute explains.