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.

Herbal remedies can aggravate asthma symptoms

Use of herbal remedies results in poorer quality of life and increased frequency of symptoms in asthma patients, according to a study published this month in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

3 Feb 2010

Entelos awarded U.S. patent for apparatus and methods of assessing metabolic substrate utilization

Entelos, Inc., a simulation and modeling company focused on human health, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 7,654,955 entitled “Apparatus and Methods for Assessing Metabolic Substrate Utilization” to the Company. These methods further strengthen the Entelos® Metabolism PhysioLab® platform and leverage insights about human physiology that can lead to improved diagnosis, clinical testing, and personalized treatment across a highly variable patient population.

2 Feb 2010

Kool Smiles takes initiative to support children's oral care in Massachusetts

Kool Smiles is offering free toothbrushes and educational support to day care centers affected by the recent state mandate that will require day care providers to help children brush their teeth after a meal.

2 Feb 2010

Kool Smiles of Waterbury opened to offer quality dental care

It's all smiles in Waterbury thanks to the new Kool Smiles office, which opened at 728 Wolcott Street, Waterbury, CT in the Fair Oaks Shopping Center. Kool Smiles of Waterbury opened its doors on January 22nd, 2010 in a mission to expand access to quality dental care to families in the community of Waterbury.

2 Feb 2010

Health and environmental groups propose new ozone standard to help reduce asthma attacks and premature deaths

The American Lung Association, Breathe California, Coalition for Clean Air, Environmental Defense Fund and the Sierra Club will hold a joint press conference in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to strengthen the national limits for ozone "smog" pollution. The organizations are calling on the EPA to enact the most protective ozone standard under consideration to protect the health of our communities and the environment from serious harm.

2 Feb 2010

University of Pittsburgh awarded $3.5M NIH grant for WaferGen Biosystems's SmartChip Real-Time PCR System

WaferGen Biosystems, Inc., a leading developer of state-of-the-art genetic analysis systems, today announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded a grant to the University of Pittsburgh that includes funding of $350,000 over the grant period for WaferGen's SmartChip™ Real-Time PCR System. The researchers will conduct novel gene expression research in the areas of advanced lung disease and asthma and will use the SmartChip system as the key platform for high throughput validation.

1 Feb 2010

FDA approves LPI's Perindopril Erbumine tablets

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LPI) announced today that it has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) for its Perindopril Erbumine tablets, 2mg, 4mg and 8mg. Commercial shipments of the product will commence shortly.

29 Jan 2010

Ligand Pharmaceuticals acquires Metabasis Therapeutics

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced that it has completed the acquisition of Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBRX), following approval of the transaction by Metabasis stockholders yesterday. As a result, Ligand gains a fully funded partnership with Roche, additional pipeline assets and drug discovery technologies and resources. The transaction was first announced on October 27, 2009.

28 Jan 2010

Study shows ActiveHealth's VBID programs increase adherence to medications

ActiveHealth Management (ActiveHealth®), a subsidiary of Aetna, today announced the publication of a paper in the February issue of Health Affairs. The paper demonstrates that properly structured value-based insurance design (VBID) programs can be effective at increasing adherence to drug regimens for specific chronic medical conditions without increasing overall costs.

28 Jan 2010

FreeRxReminder.com launches new online Institutional Reminder Service

Patient compliance with their drug regimen is of vital importance to both the individual and the various parties that are involved in the patient's health, like doctors, pharmacies and insurance companies.

28 Jan 2010

Special issue explores how evolution can help doctors understand and treat diseases

What does evolution - a field that often deals with changes over many generations - have to do with preventing and treating disease in our lifetime?

28 Jan 2010

Phadia's ImmunoCAP Rapid System receives FDA marketing clearance

Phadia, the world leader in allergy blood testing diagnostics, today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the ImmunoCAP® Rapid Reader II, a part of the ImmunoCAP Rapid System, used to aid in the diagnosis of allergy in the physician’s office.

27 Jan 2010

Number of Americans in excellent or good health has declined

The New York Times reports on health in the U.S. "The percentage of people who reported having excellent or very good health declined to 66.6 percent in the 2009 period, from 69.1 percent in 1998.

27 Jan 2010

NTNU: 40% of two-year-olds report allergy-related disorders

Allergies and asthma are a continuing health problem in most developed countries, but just how do these ailments develop over the course of a childhood? In a population-based study designed to help answer this question, researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) found that 40 per cent - or two of five -- of nearly 5,000 two-year-olds had at least one reported allergy-related disorder. The most common symptom was wheezing, which was reported in 26 per cent of all children in the study, says Ingeborg Smidesang, a PhD candidate in the university's Faculty of Medicine, and the primary author of the study.

25 Jan 2010

Benefits of DNA testing

Does the term “genetic testing” conjure up thoughts of cloned, robot-like human beings and malevolent plots to rule the world? If so, you’ve been reading too much science fiction! The truth is, DNA testing has been put to very beneficial use for decades, primarily in the medical, law enforcement, and legal fields.

22 Jan 2010

St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network takes major steps to reduce its carbon footprint

St. Luke’s Hospital & Health Network has taken a major step towards reducing its carbon footprint. By purchasing 10 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources, the health system will realize an annual 2,900 ton reduction of carbon dioxide, a significant component of greenhouse gas.

22 Jan 2010

Researchers to study the impact of asthma on sleep and academic performance of young children

Bradley Hasbro Children's Research Center and Hasbro Children's Hospital researchers have received more than $2.5 million in direct costs from The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to study the impact of asthma on the sleep quality and academic performance of young children.

22 Jan 2010