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.

Treatment for acid reflux does not improve asthma symptoms

A commonly used treatment for acid reflux does not improve asthma symptoms or control in patients who do not have symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux (GER), according to a new study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health and by the American Lung Association (ALA).

12 Apr 2009

Prescription heartburn medications do not ease asthma symptoms

The predominance of heartburn among asthma sufferers led many specialists to suspect that acid reflux could be a trigger for the coughing, wheezing and breathlessness of asthma.

9 Apr 2009

National study results change common method of treating asthma

A nationwide study of adults with asthma reveals no benefit for treatment for silent acid reflux, which long has been thought to be the culprit for some severe asthma symptoms such as coughing, wheezing and breathlessness.

8 Apr 2009

Cost-cutting measures are creeping into the medicine cabinet

Cost-cutting measures are creeping into the medicine cabinet. We split pills in half or take the drugs every other day to stretch our doses. We stop filling the prescriptions for our most expensive drugs. We buy prescriptions from online pharmacies with questionable credentials.

6 Apr 2009

Discovery of gene variant associated with increased risk of atopic dermatitis

Scientists of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch and Charité - University Medical School, Berlin, Germany, in collaboration with researchers from the Klinikum rechts der Isar of Technical University Munich and Christian Albrecht University, Kiel, have identified a gene variant on chromosome 11 that is associated with an increased risk of atopic dermatitis.

6 Apr 2009

Complementary and alternative medicines can be safe, effective for kids

Today, more children than ever are being treated with complementary and alternative therapies.

6 Apr 2009

Ohio forum addresses racial health disparities among children

More than 200 people met Thursday for a forum sponsored by Children's Defense Fund-Ohio to discuss ways to address racial health disparities among children in the state, the Columbus Dispatch reports.

6 Apr 2009

Researchers find an increased rate of unintentional injection of epinephrine from auto-injectors for anaphylaxis

Researchers find an increased rate of unintentional injection of epinephrine from auto-injectors for anaphylaxis (severe allergic reactions) and urge people who may need to administer the life-saving drug to themselves or others in an allergic emergency to receive regular coaching in its proper use.

6 Apr 2009

More large employers offer chronic disease management programs to reduce health care costs

Eighty percent of large U.S. companies this year are offering chronic disease management programs for workers in an effort to reduce health care costs, up from 51% last year, according to a new survey by Hewitt Associates, the Houston Chronicle reports.

5 Apr 2009

Aerovance starts phase IIb clinical trial with Aerovant for uncontrolled asthma

Aerovance Inc. announced that it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.K. Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to initiate Aerovance's Phase IIb clinical trial, AeroTrial, of inhaled dry powder Aerovant in patients with uncontrolled asthma.

2 Apr 2009

Asthma in Australia

Woolcock Institute of Medical Research has released 9 key messages about asthma in Australia.

2 Apr 2009

Discovery of new role for certain lung cells in the immune response to airborne allergens

Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and at Ghent University in Ghent, Belgium, have identified a new role for certain lung cells in the immune response to airborne allergens.

30 Mar 2009

Environment plays role in hypoplastic left heart syndrome

A congenital heart disease that often leads to death in newborns is significantly more common during the summer, leading researchers to believe that the environment, and not just genes that affect the heart, may play a role in causing "mini-epidemics" of this disease.

30 Mar 2009

Boston Globe examines center that provides services to children living with HIV, other conditions

The Boston Globe on Thursday examined the SPARK Center, which opened in 1988 as a residential program for children living with HIV.

30 Mar 2009

Enzyme and vitamin define the yin and yang of asthma

The allergen breathed in by a person with asthma triggers a proteinase or enzyme called MMP7 that activates a cascade of events to prompt an allergic reaction, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report that appears online in the journal Nature Immunology.

29 Mar 2009

Genetic variations may determine lung function and susceptibility to maternal smoking

A tiny variation within a single gene can determine not only how quickly and well lungs grow and function in children and adolescents, but how susceptible those children will be to exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, even in utero, according to researchers from the University of Southern California.

29 Mar 2009

Mutations in a gene may stunt lung development in children

Mutations in a gene may cause poor lung development in children, making them more vulnerable to diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) later in life, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the German Research Center for Environmental Health.

29 Mar 2009

Rockefeller neuroscientist applies basic science to health care reform

A self-described "molecular sociologist" is extending his basic research to the national policy debate on health care reform. Bruce McEwen, head of the Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, led a panel of scientific experts last month at the Institute of Medicine's Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public. The Institute is the most prominent independent medical advisory board in the country and will release a report from the conference in November, as Congress is likely to be considering major health care legislation.

25 Mar 2009

Orexo reports on efficacy study in allergic rhinitis with OX914

Orexo has reported clinical results from an experimental phase IIa safety and efficacy study in allergic rhinitis with OX914, the first compound in its Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor program.

24 Mar 2009