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.

Parent’s trust in doctor is key for black asthmatic children

Children under 12 with persistent asthma need highly motivated parents if they are to get the benefits of regular steroid inhaler treatments and have fewer asthma attacks. That motivation starts with a good relationship between parent and doctor.

22 May 2009

AstraZeneca granted preliminary injunction against Apotex in Pulmicort Respules patent litigation

On May 20, 2009, the US District Court for the District of New Jersey granted the request of AstraZeneca for an injunction barring Apotex (Apotex, Inc. and Apotex Corp.) from launching a generic version of AstraZeneca's Pulmicort Respules (budesonide inhalation suspension) in the US. No trial date for the patent litigation has been set.

20 May 2009

Vitamin D may halt lung function decline in asthma and COPD

Vitamin D may slow the progressive decline in the ability to breathe that can occur in people with asthma as a result of human airway smooth muscle (HASM) proliferation, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.

20 May 2009

Take control of your asthma, EPA advises

Asthma is a serious, sometimes life-threatening respiratory disease that affects the quality of life for millions of people; but it can be managed if people know what it is and understand how the environment can affect asthma patients.

20 May 2009

Exposure to tobacco smoke early in life may lead to emphysema later on

The take-home message from our analysis is that exposure to tobacco smoke during childhood may be associated with detectable differences in lung structure, and perhaps early emphysema, later in life among people who do not themselves smoke.

19 May 2009

Obese mothers, asthmatic kids

Babies born to obese mothers may have an increased risk of asthma, according to data from a new study to be presented on May 19 at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.

19 May 2009

Researchers look at eczema asthma link

Many young children who get a severe skin rash develop asthma months or years later. Doctors call the progression from eczema, or atopic dermatitis, to breathing problems the atopic march. In the May 2009 issue of PLoS Biology, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report another step taken towards understanding the process of atopic march.

18 May 2009

New asthma treatment bronchial thermoplasty improves patient quality of life

Chronic asthma sufferers may find new relief in a simple, minimally invasive outpatient procedure known as bronchial thermoplasty, which uses controlled radiofrequency-generated heat to treat the muscles of the airways, preventing them from constricting and narrowing.

18 May 2009

Swine flu preoccupies world health leaders

It is expected that the upcoming World Health Organisation's (WHO) annual assembly will be dominated this year by the emergence and spread of the new influenza virus H1N1 (swine flu).

14 May 2009

FDA accepts Pharmaxis’ Aridol NDA for review

Pharmaxis has announced it had received notification from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that the New Drug Application (NDA) for its mannitol bronchial challenge test Aridol has been accepted for standard review. The FDA will advise the result of the review on 27 December 2009.

13 May 2009

Radical blow for snotty arteries

Controlling the green stuff in snot could help treat heart disease, reveals Professor Michael Davies from the University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and the Heart Research Institute.

12 May 2009

American Civil Liberties Union challenges breast cancer gene patents

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation at Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (PUBPAT) filed a lawsuit today charging that patents on two human genes associated with breast and ovarian cancer stifle research that could lead to cures and limit women's options regarding their medical care.

12 May 2009

Pioneering new tests and treatments for tackling airways disease highlighted

Pioneering new tests and treatments developed in Leicester for people with conditions like asthma and chronic cough are to be presented at a public event at the University of Leicester.

7 May 2009

FDA licenses Sanofi Pasteur's new flu vaccine manufacturing facility

Sanofi Pasteur announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has licensed its new influenza vaccine manufacturing facility.

7 May 2009

Self-management programs for asthma improve drug adherence, disease control

Asthma patients who spend as little as 30 minutes with a health care professional to develop a personalized self-management plan show improved adherence to medications and better disease control, according to a new study by a team of researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.

6 May 2009

Asthma coaching can reduce hospitalizations in some children

Working with an asthma coach helps to significantly reduce hospitalizations of low-income, African-American children with asthma, results of a new, two-year study show.

5 May 2009

Children's characteristics may determine response to inhaled corticosteroid therapy for asthma

In a study published online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and five other sites nationwide found that children who showed the most improvement in days without wheezing using an inhaled corticosteroid drug were caucasian boys who had allergies and had a hospitalization or emergency department visit for asthma symptoms in the year prior to the trial.

5 May 2009

A link found between childhood obesity and allergies

A new study indicates there may be yet another reason to reduce childhood obesity - it may help prevent allergies. The study published in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology showed that obese children and adolescents are at increased risk of having some kind of allergy, especially to a food.

4 May 2009

Athletes with asthma need more help from their team trainers

Very few athletic trainers associated with National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) programs said that they were following best practice standards for managing asthma among their athletes, according to a new study.

30 Apr 2009

Sublingual immunotherapy for inhalant allergies deserves deeper consideration

Sublingual immunotherapy for the treatment of allergy symptoms caused by a wide variety of environmental inhalants has been effectively used in Europe.

30 Apr 2009