A recent study by Harvard immunologist Dr. Dale Umetsu may leave asthma sufferers finally breathing a sigh of relief.

The study, which has been in the works for about two years, found that “natural killer T cells” are directly responsible for the effects of asthma in the lungs, explaining the feelings of discomfort in asthma sufferers.

“We started research with mice about five years ago,” Umetsu said. “And after finding some interesting things, we started research in humans about two years ago.”

According to Umetsu, he and his research partner Assistant Professor of Pediatrics Omid Akbari found that the presence of NKT cells in the lungs causes symptoms of asthma, such as coughing, wheezing and shortness or breathe. Instead of treating the symptoms of asthma, this study aims to get rid of asthma by eliminating the cells from the lungs once, providing permanent relief.

But Umetsu stressed that the studies are not complete yet.

“We’re still working to find a treatment to remove asthma cells from the lungs,” he said.

Future research would require testing to find if the composition of asthmatic NKT cells varies in degrees of severity and also if they are the same in children as well as adults. Treatment for the NKT cells would not be surgical, but rather a one-time medical procedure, Umetsu said.

“Clearly, it’s a significant problem that causes morbidity in [some] patients,” he said. “We want to make people a lot happier … and if we eliminate it, people will have much better control of their lives.”

Aside from its discomfort, asthma can also lead to extreme frustration, Umetsu added.

“I take care of many patients with asthma,” Umetsu said. “Many of them can’t control their symptoms. It’s difficult to take medication every day. If we could cure it once, we could take care of it [for good].”

“I think it’s important to understand how the T cells work because they play an important role,” said Dr. Johnson Wong, an asthma specialist at the Allergy Asthma Association in Boston. “But it requires a gradual understanding as well. [The study] looks promising but it depends what happens in the long run.”

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that asthma leads to 2 million emergency room visits and 5,000 deaths per year in America. The costs for asthma-for treatment, hospitalization and calculating lost productivity-amount to $14 billion, according to the EPA’s website.

Roughly 15 million people suffer from asthma in the United States, according to a 2003 study on asthma in New England conducted by Laurie Stillman and the Asthma Regional Council. New England ranks among the foremost areas for asthma sufferers at 8.9 percent of New Englanders while only 6.9 percent of the rest of the U.S. suffers.

The study also shows that females are more likely to suffer than males, and people between the ages of 18 and 24 are most susceptible of all other age ranges to contract the disease. Families from lower-income household are also more likely to suffer, according to the study.

Wong estimated that 10 percent of the U.S. population has asthma, but that not everyone seeks treatment who should be. For mild asthma, there are no long-term consequences aside from discomfort, but the results can be fatal for untreated cases of severe asthma, Wong said.

“People are seeking treatment especially for symptoms like shortness of breath when at rest or when exerting themselves, for coughing, wheezing or other loud noises when they breathe, and other discomforting symptoms similar to hay fever,” Wong said.

“It would be a huge relief to be able to breathe normally again,” said Sandy Kalik, a College of Communication junior and asthma sufferer. “It’s really a pain when I’m sick and it’s worse. I’d be excited about a permanent solution.”