Asthma is a chronic (long-lasting) inflammatory disease of the airways. In those susceptible to asthma, this inflammation causes the airways to narrow periodically. This, in turn, produces wheezing and breathlessness, sometimes to the point where the patient gasps for air.
Children closest to Ground Zero have high rates of self-reported asthma and airway obstruction. – Research conducted seven years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City (NYC) found that children attending the socioeconomically and ethnically homogeneous elementary school closest to Ground Zero have high rates of self-reported asthma and airway obstruction.
Teachers? ignorance is putting children with asthma at risk – Introduce clear guidelines for schools on their responsibilities for supporting children with asthma. – A disturbing three quarters of teachers are not completely confident about what to do if a child in their class has a potentially life-threatening asthma attack, yet asthma is the most common long-term condition affecting children in the UK and on average there are two children with asthma in every classroom.
Folic acid may help regulate immune response to allergens, and may reduce allergy and asthma symptoms. – Folic 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.
Vitamin D levels linked to asthma severity. New research provides evidence for a link between vitamin D insufficiency and asthma severity. – Serum levels of vitamin D in more than 600 Costa Rican children were inversely linked to several indicators of allergy and asthma severity, including hospitalizations for asthma, use of inhaled steroids and total IgE levels.
The so-called purple pill, known popularly as Nexium and and esomeprazole to physicians, did not reduce asthma symptoms in patients who did not have symptoms of heartburn. – The predominance of heartburn among asthma sufferers led many specialists to suspect that acid reflux could be a trigger for the coughing, wheezing and breathlessness of asthma.
Research suggests pollution-related asthma may start in the womb – Children born in areas with increased traffic-related pollution may be at greater risk of developing asthma due to genetic changes acquired in the womb, according to new research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Oral steroids ineffective in the treatment of preschool virus-induced wheezing – A new study from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry has found that a common treatment for wheezing in preschool children is no more effective than a placebo.
Some patients with severe asthma who also have allergic sensitivity to certain fungi enjoy great improvements in their quality of life and on other measures after taking an antifungal drug. – 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.
Timing is Everything When it Comes to Childhood Asthma. There is a relationship between childhood asthma with the winter season after birth. – Children who are born four months before the peak of cold and flu season have a greater risk of developing childhood asthma than children born at any other time of year, according to new research from Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Factors identified causing barriers to asthma care – access to appropriate care, patient adherence, distrust of the medical profession, delayed asthma diagnosis, culture, lifestyle choices and genetic discrepancies – Barriers to managing asthma include access to appropriate care, patient adherence, distrust of the medical profession, delayed asthma diagnosis, culture, lifestyle choices and genetic discrepancies according to experts at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Seattle.
Childhood wheezing with rhinovirus can increase asthma risk later during childhood. – Infants who experience viral respiratory illnesses with wheezing are known to be at increased risk for developing asthma later during childhood. It is not known, however, whether every type of respiratory virus that produces wheezing presents similar risk.
This study provides further worldwide evidence that the use of paracetamol in childhood can increase the risk of developing asthma and related allergic disorders. – A strong association between paracetamol use in infancy and increased risk of asthma by age 6-7 years, suggested by researchers in a new study published in the Lancet.
