Long-acting beta-agonists most effective step-up therapy for children with poorly controlled asthma

Contact: William Allstetter
allstetterw@njhealth.org
303-398-1002
National Jewish Medical and Research Center
For children whose asthma is not well controlled and on low doses of inhaled corticosteroids, a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) may be the most effective of three possible step-up treatments. National Jewish clinician-scientists Stanley Szefler, Joseph Spahn, Ronina Covar Gary Larsen and Lynn Taussig, and colleagues in the NIH-funded Childhood Asthma Research and Education Network published their findings March 2, 2010, online in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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A novel gene found for childhood-onset asthma

Contact: John Ascenzi
Ascenzi@email.chop.edu
267-426-6055
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Read more

Potential cancer drug may offer new hope for asthma patients

Contact: Tara Womersley
tara.womersley@ed.ac.uk
44-131-650-9836
University of Edinburgh Read more

Gut worms may protect against asthma

A study conducted in Vietnam has added further weight to the view that parasitic gut worms, such as hookworm, could help in the prevention and treatment of asthma and other allergies.

Led by Dr Carsten Flohr, a Clinical Scientist from The University of Nottingham, and Dr Luc Nguyen Tuyen from the Khanh Hoa Provincial Health Service in central Vietnam, the study is the largest double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial to date looking at the potential links between hookworm and other gut worm infections and allergic conditions such as asthma and eczema.

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Breathing technique can reduce frequency, severity of asthma attacks

As the health care reform debate turns to cutting costs and improving treatment outcomes, two professors at Southern Methodist University in Dallas are expanding a study that shows promise for reducing both the expense and suffering associated with chronic asthma.

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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.

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Folic acid may help treat allergies, asthma

Hopkins Children’s study: Folic acid may help treat allergies, asthmaFolic acid, or vitamin B9, essential for red blood cell health and long known to reduce the risk of spinal birth defects, may also suppress allergic reactions and lessen the severity of allergy and asthma symptoms, according to new research from the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.

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Treatment for acid reflux does not improve asthma

New research suggests that a widely used treatment for persistent acid reflux among asthmatics doesn’t actually improve their quality of life. The finding that as many as one-third of those studied showed no improvement makes a strong case arguing that physicians should change how they currently treat these patients.

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Fungal pill could provide asthma relief for thousands of sufferers

Research could mean asthma relief for millions worldwide

Up to 150,000 people suffering from severe asthma in the UK could benefit from taking antifungal medication already available from pharmacists, new research has found.

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Immune system pathway identified to fight allergens, asthma

Role of genetic components of dendritic cells could lead to more effective drugs, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study says

For the first time, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified genetic components of dendritic cells that are key to asthma and allergy-related immune response malfunction. Targeting these elements could result in more effective drugs to treat allergic disorders and asthma, according to a study reported in the May edition of the journal Nature Medicine.

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