Asthma & Allergies

Early Asthma Detection Reported December 07, 2007 PITTSBURGH, Penn. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It's one of the leading causes of hospitalization for children. One in 10 kids suffers from asthma, yet doctors may sometimes have a difficult time getting an accurate diagnosis in very young patients. Three-year old Naomi Shaviss landed in the hospital … [Read more...]

Is Smoking in Our Genes?Reported August 15, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A person’s reaction to his or her first taste of nicotine is linked to a particular genetic variation, according to a new study. The finding may help explain the path that leads from that first cigarette to lifelong smoking. Researchers point to an uncommon variation of a gene known as … [Read more...]

Staph infection becoming more common among local athletesReported November 06, 2007 An infection is on the rise in local athletes. As the Healthline 3 Team discovered, they're called staph infections and they can be quite dangerous. Which is why one local doctor says everyone needs to protect themselves. "I'm thinking just a pimple it'll go away and that's nothing." But … [Read more...]

Smoking and the Risk to Women's Lungs Reported June 02, 2008 C.O.P.D., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, blocks airflow through the lungs. It makes breathing difficult. The leading cause is cigarette smoking. Experts at the National Institutes of Health in the United States say the damage to the lungs cannot be repaired and there is no cure. … [Read more...]

New Approach for Severe Asthma Reported September 19, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Blocking a powerful immune system chemical present in patients with severe asthma improves symptoms and lung function, according to a recent study. Nearly one in every 10 patients with asthma has severe asthma. With the need for progressively higher doses of steroids to control symptoms, the … [Read more...]

Does Smokeless Tobacco Help Smokers Quit Cigarettes?   Reported January 26, 2009 Some smokers say they just can’t quit cigarettes. But previous studies of smokers in Sweden have suggested that many have done just that, by switching to smokeless tobacco. While not without health risks, smokeless tobacco is less harmful than … [Read more...]

Vitamin Supplement may Help AsthmaReported December 12, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Asthma patients who don't respond to steroids may have a new option. A recent study from King's College London and Imperial College finds vitamin D3 could significantly improve their response to steroid treatment. The results imply steroid … [Read more...]

Antibiotics Prescribed Unnecessarily for Acute Bronchitis Reported November 16, 2006 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- When you have bronchitis, chances are your doctor will prescribe an antibiotic. Now researchers say, "Not so fast." A new study from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond reveals there is no evidence to support … [Read more...]

Asthma Toxins Reported December 2, 2005   (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- New research is reinforcing the link between dust exposure in the home and asthma. Researchers from the University of Iowa in Iowa City compared asthma symptoms of 2,400 residents to dust samples from 800 homes. They found endotoxins in bedding dust correlated strongest with asthma symptoms, like wheezing, in … [Read more...]

Asthma Attacks in Pregnant Women Not Linked to Sex of FetusReported March 13, 2009 MONTREAL, March 13 -- The gender of a fetus has no detectable significant effect on the risk of asthma exacerbations in pregnant women, researchers here said. In a retrospective analysis of more than 5,500 pregnancies, gender also had no bearing on the mother's use of asthma … [Read more...]

Brain Structures Contribute to Asthma Reported August 31, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Could just being exposed to the word "wheeze" make an asthmatic's symptoms worse? That's what researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are saying. By using functional magnetic resonance imaging scans of the brains of asthmatics, researchers were able to see which parts of the … [Read more...]

Early Exposure to Dust may Protect Against Asthma Reported April 21, 2006 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Children exposed to dust and other microbial agents early in life may be protected from developing asthma, according to new research. Microbials are small particles that can be inhaled. Researchers from … [Read more...]

Fruit Juices Hamper Drugs’ BenefitsReported August 20, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Washing down your medicine with fruit juice may be a bad idea. You may have heard that grapefruit juice can increase the absorption of certain drugs and potentially turn normal doses into toxic ones. Now, the scientist who first identified this problem finds grapefruit and other … [Read more...]

Is Your Commute Killing You?Reported April 22, 2008 LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- How much time do you spend in a car? Your daily commute may be taking more of a toll than you realize! As Ivanhoe explains, if you don't smoke and you have pretty healthy habits, your car ride to and from work may be the unhealthiest part of your day. … [Read more...]

Obesity Dangerous for AsthmaticsReported September 08, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Asthma and obesity is a dangerous combination. New research conducted by Kaiser Permanente shows obese people with the condition are nearly five times more likely to end up in the hospital with an asthma flare up compared to people of normal weight. The finding held true even … [Read more...]

HIV infections on the rise in Sweden   Reported January 03, 2008 A record number of Swedes were infected with HIV in 2007. Stockholm’s intravenous drug users suffered a major outbreak which added to the high infection statistics. The virus strain is new and appears to have come from Finland. Through the middle of … [Read more...]

Warning to Gardeners about Deadly FungusReported June 19, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) – A warning is going out to all gardeners after a healthy man dies from inhaling material from dead plants. The 47-year-old man is highlighted in a report from researchers in the United Kingdom. In May 2007, the man was admitted to a hospital for sputum-producing cough, chest … [Read more...]

Acid Reflux Treatment Does Not Improve AsthmaReported April 13, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- While symptoms of asthma and acid reflux often overlap, treating acid reflux may not help asthma patients feel better. New research from the Ohio State University’s Medical Center finds a common treatment for acid reflux among asthmatics doesn’t actually improve their … [Read more...]

Artificial Lung Saves Lives   Reported August 20, 2007 TORONTO, Canada (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) – About 20 percent of people who need a lung transplant will die waiting for one. Unlike damaged kidneys or hearts, doctors say it’s very difficult to keep injured lungs working long enough to get a transplant. Now, a recent medical innovation could change the fate of patients … [Read more...]

Control of asthma critical during pregnancy Jan. 11, 2005 WASHINGTON (AP) - Physicians should pay close attention to managing asthma in pregnant patients, according to guidelines being released by the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program. Asthma can lead to serious medical problems, both for mothers-to-be … [Read more...]

Controlling Asthma Attacks Reported February 18, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Montelukast, a leukotriene-receptor antagonist (leukotrienes mediate inflammation in the body and play a role in allergic reactions), decreased incidents of asthma in young children by about 32 percent … [Read more...]

Easier Sinus Surgery for KidsReported May 26, 2009 ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- When treatments for kids with chronic sinus problems fail, surgery is often an option. Traditional sinus operations may require packing and tissue removal. They can be hard on adults and even harder on children. Now, a new procedure repairs the problem of clogged sinuses and gets kids … [Read more...]

Gender Impacts Asthma SeverityReported August 21, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Girls and boys deal with asthma differently. A new report from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School shows even though boys are more likely to have childhood asthma than girls, they are also more likely to outgrow it in adolescence and have fewer incidents after … [Read more...]

Gene breakthrough to make smoking less addictive Reported January 21, 2009 Professor Kazufumi Yazaki, a plant molecular biologist at Kyoto University's Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, has spent three years identifying the Nt-JAT1 gene as the transporter for nicotine. He says he now aims to … [Read more...]

Higher asthma rates in first-born kids linked to pregnancy conditions: studyReported May 20, 2008 TORONTO - First-born children are known to have a higher risk for developing asthma and allergies than their younger siblings, and researchers suggest part of the reason may lie in the womb. A study of 1,200 children on the U.K.'s Isle of Wight, followed from birth into … [Read more...]

Peanuts: The Cure for Peanut Allergies Reported December 01, 2009 DURHAM, N.C. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- 12-million Americans suffer from food allergies. More than three-million of them are allergic to peanuts. While there are drugs to treat an allergic reaction, there's nothing that can fix food allergies for good. Now, doctors are using peanuts themselves … [Read more...]

Should Flowers be Banned in Hospitals? Reported December 30, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Does flower water harbor potentially deadly bacteria? Do bedside blooms compete with patients for oxygen? Do bouquets pose a health and safety risk around medical equipment? These are some of the questions posed in U.K. hospital wards – reasons to ban, or at least … [Read more...]