Asthma News and Research

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Asthma is a common inflammatory disease affecting the airways that leads to shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing. Symptoms range from mild to severe but are generally manageable with appropriate treatment.

COPD Biomarkers Qualification Consortium launched

The COPD Foundation announces the launch of an unprecedented collaborative effort to pool information on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): the COPD Biomarkers Qualification Consortium (CBQC). The CBQC brings together government agencies, academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies that will share research data on COPD biomarkers—indicators of disease progression/severity.

18 Nov 2010

5-lipoxygenase protein modulates amyloid beta formation linked to Alzheimer's disease

A protein known to exist in the brain for more than 30 years, called 5-lipoxygenase, has been found to play a regulatory role in the formation of the amyloid beta in the brain, the major component of plaques implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers at Temple University's School of Medicine.

18 Nov 2010

Food allergies may lead to 'kissing' allergies

Even brushing your teeth or waiting hours after eating may not prevent some partners of people with food and medicine allergies from triggering an allergic reaction through a kiss, according to allergists at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Phoenix, Nov.11-16.

17 Nov 2010

Metallic particles in smoke from fireworks affect human health

The metallic particles in the smoke emitted by fireworks pose a health risk, particularly to people who suffer from asthma. This is the conclusion of a study led by researchers from the Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), published this week in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.

17 Nov 2010

Today's Op-Eds: Congress needs conservative leadership; reviving tort reform; can states afford to drop Medicaid?

Nothing has gone quite so awry as the massive, government-run Obama health program, and it is plain that the individual mandate, the employee mandate, the abortion funding, the tangle of outsider/insider councils like the comparative effectiveness board and the effective nationalization of healthcare under grants of authority to the Department of Health and Human Services.

16 Nov 2010

Study finds IgE antibody levels double with increasing age

In the first such study since the 1970s, researchers observed a highly statistically significant increase of IgE, a type of antibody associated with allergic reactions.

16 Nov 2010

Medical Acoustics receives UB CAT/NYSTAR grant

Medical Acoustics LLC, a commercial-stage medical device company which employs acoustic technologies for diagnostic and therapeutic medical applications, today announced that it has been awarded a UB CAT/NYSTAR grant.

16 Nov 2010

Study shows asthma drugs can treat aortic aneurysm

A new study from the Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet shows that asthma drugs are a potential treatment for aortic aneurysm. These drugs, which block cysteinyl-leukotrienes, could reduce the break down of vessel wall tissue and the dilation of the aortic wall, and thus the risk of its rupturing.

16 Nov 2010

Study finds two-thirds of asthma patients take combined ICS/LABA treatment

Despite national guidelines recommending that inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) be used alone as the preferred treatment for patients with mild persistent asthma, a new study finds that nearly two-thirds of these patients are taking more costly drugs that combine an ICS and a long-acting beta agonist (LABA) with no apparent additional clinical benefit noted based on pharmacy and medical claims.

16 Nov 2010

Millions of Americans suffer unnecessarily with itchy, gritty, watery eyes, say allergists

Millions of Americans suffer unnecessarily with itchy, gritty, watery eyes, according to allergists at the annual scientific meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in Phoenix, Nov. 11-16. The underdiagnosis, undertreatment and self-treatment of eye allergies may seriously diminish quality of life, allergists say.

16 Nov 2010

ViroPharma presents data on Cinryze C1 esterase inhibitor for HAE at ACAAI Meeting

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced data in four poster presentations and two oral presentations relating to Cinryze (C1 esterase inhibitor [human]) at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (ACAAI), November 11 through 16 in Phoenix, Ariz.

16 Nov 2010

Teva presents QNAZE Phase III study results for SAR at ACAAI Meeting

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. today announced results from a Phase III study of QNAZE (beclomethasone dipropionate [BDP]) HFA, a nasal aerosol corticosteroid in development for the treatment of seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR), that demonstrated significantly greater symptom relief compared with placebo.

15 Nov 2010

50% of nut allergic patients not able to recognize nut types

Only half of people with peanut or tree nut allergies know what the nut they are allergic to looks like, according to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting in Phoenix Nov. 11-16. Researchers assembled a nut display that held peanuts and nine tree nuts in 19 different forms. A worksheet, which listed the items, was completed by 1,105 participants 6 years or older. Responses were analyzed based on demographics, presence or absence of food allergies, and occupational history.

15 Nov 2010

Study finds asthma care inferior

Researchers assessed asthma burden and treatment practice in the U.S. based on results of the recently completed Asthma Insight and Management telephone survey in a new study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting in Phoenix, Nov. 11-16.

15 Nov 2010

Bronchial thermoplasty helps asthma patients stop taking LABAs

If you have severe persistent asthma, bronchial thermoplasty (BT) may help you stop taking long-acting beta2-agonists (LABAs) according to a new study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting in Phoenix, Nov. 11-16. This novel procedure delivers thermal energy to the airway wall to reduce airway constriction.

15 Nov 2010

Study finds obesity and super obesity associated with increased risk of asthma

Asthma is reaching epidemic levels in the U.S., with 8 percent of the total population and 10 percent of the African-American population suffering from this disease. Obesity rates are also increasing, now affecting 34 percent of the population.

15 Nov 2010

Prolonged use of cell phone increases nickel allergy

Chatting endlessly on your cell phone can lead to an allergic reaction to the nickel in your phone, according to allergists at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Phoenix, Nov. 11-16. From cosmetics to jewelry, body piercings to tattoos, allergies can lurk in unlikely places, allergists say.

15 Nov 2010

Researchers find influenza vaccines can contain allergenic components

People with egg or gelatin allergies shouldn't assume that just because they've had a flu shot safely in the past they will be able to again, according to a new study, presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting in Phoenix Nov. 11-16.

15 Nov 2010

ICS/LABA combination therapy increases asthma-related pharmacy cost

Researchers find inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting beta agonist (ICS/LABA) combination products are commonly used by patients with mild asthma, despite the lack of evidence or guidelines for such use.

15 Nov 2010

Study finds children more likely to be allergic to amoxicillin

Children are more likely to have an allergy to amoxicillin than adults, according to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology annual meeting in Phoenix Nov. 11-16. Amoxicillin is a form of penicillin.

15 Nov 2010