Research presented at this year’s European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress suggested that selecting asthma treatments based on genetic differences could improve control among children and teenagers. 

Children treated with inhaled corticosteroids were randomly assigned to receive treatment
according to British Thoracic Society guidelines or according to particular genetic differences that encode the beta-2 receptor. Specifically, the researchers were looking for one or two altered copies of a gene called rs1042713 and where it was found these children received montelukast instead of salmeterol. Those with two copies (A/A genotype) showed the greatest improvement. 

The researchers describe the results as promising because they show that it could be beneficial to test for certain genetic differences in children with asthma and select medication accordingly. It remains to be seen if and when this might occur in practice.