Respiratoir syncytieel virus bronchiolitis: Rol van genetische polymorfismen

The variability in disease severity after infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and the risk for recurrent wheezing after the initial episode, is influenced by a number of epidemiologic and demographic factors including the month of birth, smoking in the household, and a medical history of prematurity, chronic lung disease or congenital heart defects. Next to these factors, outcome of infection is probably influenced by genetic polymorphisms in genes encoding for proteins playing a role in the immune response. Some of these polymorphisms have been studied in detail and correlated with severity of RSV-induced disease. Unfortunately functional correlates of these polymorphisms are still lacking. Thus far the clinical relevance of these polymorphisms as prognostic factors is unclear.