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.

New drug to combat Gastrointestinal graft-vs.-host disease in stem-cell patients shows significant reduction in deaths

Gastrointestinal graft-vs.-host disease is a common and potentially deadly side effect for patients who undergo an allogeneic stem-cell transplant to treat certain blood cancers.

23 Jan 2007

Inhaled steroids best treatment for children with asthma

Although several medications are available to help children maintain asthma control, clinical trials directly comparing them have not been conducted.

23 Jan 2007

Lung neutrophils produce histamine in significant quantities

In a surprise finding, scientists have discovered that histamine, the inflammatory compound released during allergic reactions that causes runny nose, watery eyes, and wheezing, can be produced in large amounts in the lung by neutrophils, the white blood cells that are the major component of pus.

14 Jan 2007

Red tide toxins may trigger respiratory symptoms

The ecological phenomenon, known as Florida red tide, can be harmful for people with asthma. Florida red tides, an annual event in areas along the Gulf of Mexico, are blooms of the ocean organism, Karenia brevis (K brevis), that are concentrated along shorelines and produce highly potent aerosolized toxins.

8 Jan 2007

FDA approves MedImmune's new refrigerated formulation of FluMist influenza virus vaccine

MedImmune has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the company's new refrigerated formulation of FluMist (Influenza Virus Vaccine Live, Intranasal) for use in helping to prevent influenza in healthy children and adults from 5 years to 49 years of age.

8 Jan 2007

FDA announces tentative approval of generic Zoloft

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted tentative approval for the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Sertraline Hydrochloride Tablets, 25mg, 50mg and 100mg.

2 Jan 2007

Homesickness prevention and treatment

A new report urges parents and children's doctors to change their thinking about homesickness among children, to see it as a nearly universal but highly preventable and treatable phenomenon -- rather than an unavoidable part of childhood.

2 Jan 2007

City kids with asthma lose out on preventive treatment

A new study by specialists at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and elsewhere suggests that only one in five inner-city children with chronic asthma gets enough medicine to control dangerous flare-ups of the disease.

4 Dec 2006

The role of gut worms in allergies

Gut parasites could hold the key to increasingly common conditions such as eczema, asthma and hay fever, according to scientists at The University of Nottingham.

2 Dec 2006

Gene therapy to treat erectile dysfunction shows promise

The first human study using gene transfer to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) shows promising results and suggests the potential for using the technology to treat overactive bladder, irritable bowel syndrome and asthma, according to the researchers.

2 Dec 2006

Turmeric for prevention of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis

An ancient spice, long used in traditional Asian medicine, may hold promise for the prevention of both rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, according to a recently completed study at The University of Arizona College of Medicine.

30 Oct 2006

Expert says flu vaccination programs a pointless waste of money

According to a vaccine expert the millions spent on flu vaccination programs each year are a waste of time and money.

30 Oct 2006

Living near highways bad for kids asthma

According to the results of a five-year study by researchers at New York University's School of Medicine, the unusually high numbers of elementary school children suffering from asthma and other respiratory ailments in the South Bronx area of New York, can be attributed to motor vehicle exhaust fumes.

30 Oct 2006

Flu vaccine safe for babes and tots

A new study from the U.S. says it is safe for children as young as 6 months to have the flu vaccine.

25 Oct 2006

Combination therapy of salmeterol and fluticasone improves survival in patients with COPD

A combination of two common medications may help patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) live longer.

23 Oct 2006

UT Southwestern looks at promising new medication that reduces the severity and frequency of asthma attacks

UT Southwestern Medical Center is one of a handful of top research institutions evaluating a promising new medication researchers hope can reduce the severity and frequency of asthma attacks in inner-city children, a population known to have a high prevalence of severe asthma.

20 Oct 2006

$74 million allocated to study environmental causes of disease

As part of the new Exposure Biology Program, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a component of the National Institutes of Health, today announced $74 million in grant opportunities for the development of new technologies that will improve the measurement of environmental exposures that contribute to human disease.

19 Oct 2006

One in four smokers doomed to get incurable lung disease

According to British and Danish researchers the longer someone smokes the higher their risk of developing the incurable lung condition chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

18 Oct 2006

Researchers step toward therapy for respiratory syncytial virus

When a child under the age of 2 contracts a respiratory tract infection requiring hospitalization, odds are that the cause is respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

17 Oct 2006

Transport mechanism of bioactive molecule, S1P, identified

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have identified how a bioactive molecule involved with allergy, inflammation and cancer is transported out of mast cells, according to findings published online this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

17 Oct 2006