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.

Nationwide Asthma Screening Program to find people at risk

The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology will help adults and children to find out if they are at risk for asthma through its Nationwide Asthma Screening Program. More than 200 screenings will take place across the country this year. Locate one near you on the calendar of screenings available at AllergyAndAsthmaRelief.org.

12 Apr 2010

Pollen overload in some parts of US, situation grim for asthmatics

Unusual cold seasons across US has lead to an all time high in pollen this season. Southeast is one of the worst affected with a yellow mist of pollen hanging around constantly. Normally a pollen count of 120 is considered high. This year it has risen up to 5,733 in Atlanta last week. This is the second-highest level on record, according to The Weather Channel. (The city's record - 6,013 on April 12, 1999.)

12 Apr 2010

AmericanEHR Partners Program introduced to help medical practitioners compare EHR systems

A collaboration developing a new Web site to help medical practitioners compare electronic health records systems was announced today by its founding partners, the American College of Physicians and Cientis Technologies.

9 Apr 2010

University of Southampton, Synairgen Research scientists commence Phase II trial of interferon beta for asthma

Scientists from the University of Southampton and Synairgen Research Ltd, a respiratory drug development company spun out from the University, have begun a Phase II study into the effectiveness of the drug interferon beta for asthma patients.

9 Apr 2010

World Health Day: Addressing health and quality of life for city dwellers

This year's World Health Day theme, "Urbanization and Health: Urban Health Matters," reminds us that many of those people most at risk of poor health around the world live in cities.

8 Apr 2010

New strategies to help allergy sufferers survive the winds of spring, summer

Every spring and summer, millions of Americans dread the trip to the park, the playground, or participating in any of the myriad activities that trigger outdoor allergy symptoms.

8 Apr 2010

Adolescent inhalant misuse can lead to deadly consequences

Approximately 143,000 young people aged 12 to 17 used inhalants in the past year while dealing with a condition like pneumonia, bronchitis, asthma, or sinusitis, according to a new study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The study determined that the rate of use was 4.4 percent among adolescents who had at least one of the aforementioned respiratory conditions, similar to the rate among adolescents overall (4.1 percent).

8 Apr 2010

Cities, leaders worldwide mark World Health Day

Cities throughout the world are marking World Health Day today by promoting urban health, as part of the WHO's "1,000 cities, 1,000 lives" campaign, CNN reports (Shaikh, 4/7).

8 Apr 2010

HRV devices reduce respiratory symptoms in children: Study

Houses today are so well sealed that they can trap humidity and pollutants indoors as a result of insufficient ventilation. Recently, a team of Canadian scientists led by Dr. Tom Kovesi, a pediatric respirologist at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, Canada, performed a randomized double-blind, placebo controlled trial to determine whether use of heat recovery ventilators would increase home ventilation and therefore reduce the risk of lower respiratory tract illness in young children.

7 Apr 2010

Aerocrine AB experiences low first-quarter sales development

Aerocrine AB today announced that its first quarter sales development has been below expectations. Revenues are estimated to reach approximately 18 MSEK compared to 26,9 MSEK previous year.

7 Apr 2010

Traffic-related pollution near schools contributes to pediatric asthma

Living near major highways has been linked to childhood asthma, but a new study led by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California suggests that traffic-related pollution near schools is also contributing to the development of asthma in kids.

7 Apr 2010

Update on Aerocrine AB's patent infringement cases against Apieron

Aerocrine AB today announced that its patent infringement cases in the U.S. and Europe against Apieron Inc., Menlo Park, USA will be stayed as a result of Apieron filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

7 Apr 2010

Next phase of health reform in the U.S. to focus on individualized care: PwC

The next phase of health reform in the United States will reflect a concerted effort to keep people well, out of the hospital and more actively engaged in managing their own health, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

6 Apr 2010

Electronic nose may help identify asthma in patients: CHEST

New evidence shows that an "electronic nose" containing an array of gas sensors may have the ability to identify asthma in patients. Researchers from Italy compared the diagnostic performance of the electronic nose with lung function tests and fraction of exhaled nitric oxide in seven patients with asthma and seven healthy subjects.

6 Apr 2010

U.S. Marshals seizes unapproved drug products

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, U.S. Marshals on March 31 seized a range of consumer products, including creams, capsules, tablets, gum, throat spray, and shampoos from a Haywood, Wis., manufacturer.

6 Apr 2010

Cephalon acquires biotechnology company, Ception Therapeutics

Cephalon, Inc. announced today that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of biotechnology company Ception Therapeutics, Inc. and that Ception is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cephalon.

6 Apr 2010

Economic burden associated with HAE treatment: First-ever comprehensive examination

Dyax Corp. announced the publication of a first-ever comprehensive examination of the economic burden associated with the treatment of acute attacks and chronic management of hereditary angioedema (HAE). The results, published today in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, bring to light the substantial direct and indirect medical costs of the disease on patients, payers and society. The economic study is one component of a larger survey-based Burden of Illness (BOI) study which assessed both the economic and humanistic burden of HAE.

5 Apr 2010

Clinical utility and pharmacological action of MN-166 in treatment of MS

MediciNova, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market and the Hercules Market of the Osaka Securities Exchange, today reported that this week's issue of Neurology includes two articles related to the potential clinical utility and unique pharmacological action of MN-166 in treating multiple sclerosis (MS).

3 Apr 2010

HCM: Questions to ask

While a jury awarded Tony and Angela Key, $1.6 million following a malpractice trial in the death of their 22-year-old son, Antwoine, a basketball player for Eastern Connecticut State University who collapsed and died during a game in 2005, it is a small measure of solace when a young life is cut short, particularly when the cause - hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) - could have been treated, had it been properly diagnosed.

3 Apr 2010

Growing problem of prescription drug abuse

Prescription painkiller abuse is a rapidly growing and widespread problem, recently coming into full view due to high profile stories and tragic celebrity deaths.

3 Apr 2010