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.

Asthma medicines often not prescribed as guidelines recommend

More than a decade after national guidelines were issued for asthma treatment, some patients still don't receive prescriptions for the inhalers that experts say offer the safest and most effective long-term control of the disease, a new study suggests.

20 Mar 2008

Botulinum toxin, Quo Vadis?

The journal Medical Hypotheses, an Elsevier publication, has announced the winner of the 2007 David Horrobin Prize for medical theory.

19 Mar 2008

MedImmune advances clinical development of antibody targeting interleukin-9 in patients with asthma

MedImmune has announced that its clinical program studying an investigational treatment targeting interleukin-9 (IL-9) has advanced with the start of a new trial in patients with asthma.

19 Mar 2008

Childhood allergies interfere with sleep

New research suggests that while allergies can make children unwell during the daytime they often also interfere with their sleep.

17 Mar 2008

A new inhaled TB vaccine

A new tuberculosis vaccine successfully tested at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is easier to administer and store and just as effective as one commonly used worldwide.

17 Mar 2008

Better regulation is urgently needed for genetic tests

Better regulation is urgently needed for genetic tests, particularly those marketed directly to the public, argue researchers in this week's BMJ.

17 Mar 2008

Advair reduces asthma-related hospitalization and emergency department visits

Advair Diskus (fluticasone propionate and salmeterol inhalation powder) was associated with fewer asthma-related hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits in pediatric patients when compared to the use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) alone, and use of Advair by pediatric and adult patients through the summer was associated with fewer hospitalizations and ED visits in the fall.

17 Mar 2008

Cancer drug allergies

Cancer patients from the Southeastern United States who are treated with the drug cetuximab, known commercially as Erbitux, are far more likely to suffer severe allergic reactions than patients in other regions of the country.

14 Mar 2008

Aspirin cuts asthma risk in women

A small dose of aspirin on alternate days can cut the risk of developing asthma among women, suggests a large study, published ahead of print in Thorax.

14 Mar 2008

Low dose inhaled corticosteroids improve lung function in mild asthma patients

A study by the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research in Sydney is the first to demonstrate that in patients with very mild or well-controlled asthma, regular treatment with low dose ICS leads to significantly better day-to-day lung function.

11 Mar 2008

Nasal polyps from analgesics

If a patient develops respiratory problems after taking analgesics, this indicates that the active substances are poorly tolerated.

11 Mar 2008

Allergy testing is essential in the effective management of patients with allergic conditions

When combined with a detailed medical history, it can identify the causes of allergy symptoms and provide the basis for avoidance, environmental control and immunotherapy.

11 Mar 2008

Theories about preventing childhood allergies questioned

When it comes to preventing food allergies in children two new studies are saying that many methods currently in practice may be ineffective.

10 Mar 2008

Indoor allergen exposure a great importance in relation to asthma

Results from a new national survey demonstrate that elevated allergen levels in the home are associated with asthma symptoms in allergic individuals.

3 Mar 2008

State-to-state differences in quality of care for children with special needs

A new government survey reveals children with special health care needs, such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and asthma, don't consistently get the care that is federally recommended and that there are vast state-to-state differences.

28 Feb 2008

Smoking and pre-eclampsia

Pregnant women who suffer from the high risk condition pre-eclampsia which leads to the death of hundreds of babies every year are putting the lives of their unborn children at significantly increased risk if they continue to smoke during pregnancy.

26 Feb 2008

Obese children experience more problems during surgery

A new study from the University of Michigan Health System finds that obese children are much more likely than normal-weight children to have problems with airway obstruction and other breathing-related functions during surgery

26 Feb 2008

Childhood obesity leads to higher rate of problems during surgery

Add this to the growing list of health challenges faced by obese children: A new study from the University of Michigan Health System finds that obese children are much more likely than normal-weight children to have problems with airway obstruction and other breathing-related functions during surgery.

25 Feb 2008

Multiple approaches to type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes, formerly called insulin-dependent diabetes, juvenile diabetes or childhood-onset diabetes, affects 1 to 2 million people in the U.S. and millions more worldwide.

21 Feb 2008

How childhood abuse affects adult health care use and costs in women

Middle-aged women who suffered physical or sexual abuse as children spend up to one-third more than average in health-care costs, according to a long-term study of more than 3,000 women.

20 Feb 2008