Asthma & Allergies News

The indoor air quality in nursing homes has a serious effect on the lung health of elderly residents, according to the findings of a new study. The study, which is published online in the European Respiratory Journal, is the first to detail the negative effects of poor air quality in nursing homes across several countries. Researchers from the EU-funded GERIE research … [Read more...]

In diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the body produces too much mucus, making breathing difficult. New research from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis provides clues to potentially counteract inappropriate mucus production. "The new study lays the groundwork for developing treatments for diseases such as asthma, … [Read more...]

Scientists funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have identified a cellular receptor for rhinovirus C, a cold-causing virus that is strongly associated with severe asthma attacks. A variant in the gene for this receptor previously had been linked to asthma in genetic studies, but the potential … [Read more...]

Researchers from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio today revealed the molecular structure of the cytotoxin from Mycoplasma pneumoniae, a widespread, highly contagious bacterium that infects the lungs. The determination of the structure of the protein, called Community Acquired Respiratory Distress Syndrome (CARDS) toxin, … [Read more...]

A pair of air pollutants linked to climate change could also be a major contributor to the unparalleled rise in the number of people sneezing, sniffling and wheezing during allergy season. The gases, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone, appear to provoke chemical changes in certain airborne allergens that could increase their potency. That, in combination with changes in … [Read more...]

An imbalance in our metabolism can trigger inflammatory processes in the body and activate the immune system. In a recent study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, UFZ researchers have been able to show that this applies even to newborns and children under one year of age, and is correlated with the development of respiratory diseases in early … [Read more...]

The dreaded scratch or puncture test is the most common way of assessing allergic reactions to as many as 40 different substances at once. But because the test involves needles that prick multiple points along the skin's surface, it's a particularly high-stress examination for children -- and their understandably anxious parents. A new study by Tel Aviv University … [Read more...]

A new collaborative study describes a way that lung tissue can regenerate after injury. The team found that lung tissue has more dexterity in repairing tissue than once thought. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Duke University, including co-senior authors Jon Epstein, MD, chair of the department of Cell and Developmental … [Read more...]

Researchers have identified a biological basis for asthmatic children who do not respond well to corticosteroid treatment -- currently the most effective treatment for chronic asthma and acute asthma attack. Conducted at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, the study also identifies a genetic pathway that could open the possibility of new therapies for … [Read more...]

Whether allergy sufferers have symptoms that are mild or severe, they really only want one thing: relief. So it's particularly distressing that the very medication they hope will ease symptoms can cause different, sometimes more severe, allergic responses. According to a presentation at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting, … [Read more...]

Many people don't realize allergies and asthma go hand-in-hand, and about 90 percent of kids with asthma also have allergies. Even more important, when asthma is undiagnosed or poorly controlled, children are at risk for suffering difficult-to-treat allergic reactions to food. According to a study presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) … [Read more...]

Cardiff University scientists have for the first time identified the potential root cause of asthma and an existing drug that offers a new treatment. Published in Science Translational Medicine journal, Cardiff University researchers, working in collaboration with scientists at King's College London and the Mayo Clinic (USA), describe the previously unproven role of the calcium … [Read more...]

A new study led by researchers at King's College London in collaboration with the University of Manchester and the University of Dundee has found a strong link between exposure to peanut protein in household dust during infancy and the development of peanut allergy in children genetically predisposed to a skin barrier defect. Around 2% of school children in the UK and the US … [Read more...]

Asthma may be more harmful than was previously thought, according to UCLA researchers who found that genetic damage is present in circulating, or peripheral, blood. Doctors previously thought that the genetic damage it caused was limited to the lungs. In the study, researchers looked for the overexpression of a cytokine called interleukin 13 (IL-13), which is known to … [Read more...]

Results of a new study by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst strongly suggest that there will be notable increases in grass pollen production and allergen exposure up to 202 percent in the next 100 years, leading to a significant, worldwide impact on human health due to predicted rises in carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone (O3) due to climate change. While CO2 … [Read more...]

Research from The University of Manchester is bringing scientists a step closer to developing new therapies for controlling the body's response to allergies and parasitic worm infections. In a paper published in Nature Communications, Professor Andrew MacDonald and his team at the Manchester Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research discovered a new way that immune … [Read more...]

A new study shows how pharmacies might collaborate with physicians and families to reduce asthma-related illness. The Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center study found that pharmacies in neighborhoods with high rates of asthma-related emergency-room use and hospitalization filled fewer asthma controller medications compared to asthma rescue … [Read more...]

Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have found, for the first time, that spirometry was underutilized for asthma diagnosis and management in U.S. adults from 2001 to 2011, despite its accuracy, cost effectiveness and the publication of national guidelines advocating its use. Spirometry is a common test that allows physicians to determine how … [Read more...]

One in 10 children are living with asthma right now. It’s a life-long condition and costs $18 billion a year in medical expenses, lost work and school days. Now, there’s a new approach to help your children’s health while saving time and money. Quin McCormac, an 11 year old asthma patient, told Ivanhoe, “I play second and short stop. One day I was just playing and all the … [Read more...]

In what they are calling a surprising finding in a large study of men who completed questionnaires and allowed scientists to review their medical records, Johns Hopkins researchers report that men with a history of asthma were less likely than those without it to develop lethal prostate cancer. In their analysis of data collected from 47,880 men and described online Feb. 27 … [Read more...]

Fatal cardiac events are often preceded by abnormal blood clots, also called thrombosis. Scientists have now developed a molecular imaging technique that could save lives by revealing troublesome thrombi, according to a study presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). 'Thrombosis is the underlying cause of deadly … [Read more...]

In recent years and months, peanut allergies in children have been in the news frequently, as scientists reveal new insights into why more and more children are developing them and what can be done to avoid them. However, until now, few have studied the connection between peanut allergy and childhood asthma. A new study has shown that many children who have asthma have a … [Read more...]

In rare cases, patients with allergies to metals develop persistent skin rashes after metal devices are implanted near the skin. New research suggests these patients may be at increased risk of an unusual and aggressive form of skin cancer. Metal alloys help make orthopedic implants stronger and more durable. But people with sensitivity to these metals, which include nickel, … [Read more...]

By studying the mode of action of the interleukin-33 protein, an alarmin for white blood cells, a team at the Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale (IPBS -- CNRS/Université Toulouse III -- Paul Sabatier) has been able to evidence truncated forms of the protein that act as potent activators of the cells responsible for triggering allergic reactions. This … [Read more...]

To determine whether new medicines are safe and effective for humans, researchers must first test them in animals, which is costly and time-consuming, as well as ethically challenging. In a study published in ACS' journal Molecular Pharmaceutics, scientists report that they've developed a simple, "3D" laboratory method to test asthma and allergy medications that mimics what … [Read more...]

Ginseng can help treat and prevent influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages, according to research findings by a scientist in Georgia State University's new Institute for Biomedical Sciences. In a recent issue of Nutrients and an upcoming publication of the International Journal of Molecular Medicine, … [Read more...]

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in children, and it can only be managed, not cured. It affects a disproportionally higher percentage of low-income, urban minority children, and is also the most common disease-related reason for children missing school. This can have a negative effect on their academic achievement, as well as later success in life. Initial … [Read more...]

Yoga has long been promoted as a method for improving physical and mental well-being. And although yoga is often suggested to asthma sufferers to help alleviate symptoms, a new study found little evidence that yoga will improve symptoms. Researchers of the report, which is published in the June issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of … [Read more...]

Statins continue to show that their benefits extend beyond their original focus of lowering high cholesterol. With the increasing prevalence of asthma, scientists are studying the effects of statins in the lungs. In a new study in Physiological Reports, a team of researchers from the University of California, Davis, has demonstrated the feasibility of using statins to treat … [Read more...]