Asthma & Allergies

Smokers die sooner, live with more disease   Reported May 26, 2009 STOCKHOLM, Sweden, May 11 (UPI) -- A 30-year study of 54,000 men and women in Norway found smoking had a tremendous impact on mortality and cardiovascular disease. Haakon Meyer of the University of Oslo and Norwegian Institute of Public Health said the … [Read more...]

Asthma may Double Risk of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Reported  May 19, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- People who suffer from asthma have at least double the risk for contracting invasive pneumococcal disease than people without asthma do, according to a new study. Invasive … [Read more...]

COPD can Lead to Osteoporosis Reported December 21, 2004 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- People suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, may also be at higher risk for developing osteoporosis, report researchers who studied 81 patients with the lung disease and 38 healthy people who served as controls. … [Read more...]

Eating Nuts During Pregnancy Increases Child’s Asthma RiskReported July 17, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) – You may want to limit the amount of nuts you eat while you’re pregnant. A new study from the Netherlands finds expectant mothers who eat nuts or nut products – like peanut butter – every day increase their child’s risk of asthma by more than 50 percent … [Read more...]

Gene Found for Childhood Asthma Reported January 05, 2010 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Pediatric researchers have identified a gene which may provide an important target for new childhood asthma treatment. Asthma is a complex disease in which a large number of genes are thought to interact with one another and with environmental factors to produce asthma's … [Read more...]

Scientists Take to the 'Airways' to Find New Asthma TreatmentsSUNDAY, March 20 SUNDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- Research focusing on inflammation of the airways in asthma may eventually lead to new therapies for the disease. Asthma, a chronic and sometimes life-long disease, is characterized by inflammation of the airways, which … [Read more...]

Prolonged maternal stress appears to boost child's risk of asthma: study Reported January 15, 2008 TORONTO - Children whose mothers suffer prolonged depression or anxiety appear to have a higher rate of asthma than other youngsters, independent of other risk factors for the increasingly common respiratory condition, a Canadian study suggests. The study, which analyzed … [Read more...]

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Pollution Damages Young Lungs Reported December 28, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The synergistic effect of early exposure to both outdoor traffic-related pollution and indoor endotoxin causes more harm to developing lungs than one or the other exposure alone. Environmental health scientists at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine have … [Read more...]

Sinus Surgery Worth the EffortReported May 07, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) – People who elect to have endoscopic sinus surgery to relieve the pain and suffering associated with chronic rhinosinusitis can rest assured of the results. According to Georgetown University Medical Center researchers who pooled data from 21 previous studies, this type of surgery leads to … [Read more...]

Sweating Out AsthmaReported September 09, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- People who suffer from exercise-induced asthma (EIA) may benefit from strategies to increase their production of sweat and other bodily fluids. That’s the key finding from University of Michigan investigators who measured fluid secretion rates in 56 athletes suspected of having EIA. All … [Read more...]

Air Pollutant Mimics Cigarette SmokeReported August 18, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Scientists have discovered something in the air that could be as dangerous as cigarette smoke. Researchers at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge uncovered a long-lasting free radical in the air that could explain why 10 to 15 percent of lung cancers are diagnosed in … [Read more...]

Can an Apple a Day Keep Asthma Away? Reported July 10, 2007 ORLANDO (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Eating your fruits and veggies can keep you healthy in one more place -- your chest! A recent study suggests teenagers who follow a healthy and balanced diet -- rich in vitamin E, omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants -- report fewer coughs, respiratory infections, and less severe … [Read more...]

Corticosteroids Linked to PneumoniaReported December 01, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Inhaling corticosteroids to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may cause pneumonia, a new study shows. The lung disease COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, affecting up to 15 million people. Its prevalence is on the rise, but no … [Read more...]

Genes Help Kick HabitReported June 06, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) – The power to quit smoking may be in your genes. For the first time, researchers have identified gene patters that appear to influence how well one responds to specific smoking cessation treatments. The research was a collaborative effort between Duke University Medical Center, the National … [Read more...]

Keeping Sinuses ClearReported January 09, 2009 AUGUSTA, Ga. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- It's like having a bad cold that won't go away. Sixteen million Americans suffer from chronic sinusitis. If they don't get treated quickly it can turn into a dangerous infection; but a new blood test is making it easier for people to get on a fast track to feeling better. … [Read more...]

First randomized trial finds breastfeeding doesn't lower asthma, allergy riskReported September 11, 2007 TORONTO (CP) - The first ever randomized trial to look at the much debated question of whether breastfeeding protects an infant from developing asthma and allergies found that children who were breastfed as babies were not at a lower risk of developing these … [Read more...]

New Asthma Gene Could Lead to New Treatments Reported July 6, 2007 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- New treatments could be on the way after the discovery of a new asthma gene. Researchers from the United States, London, France, and Germany looked at more than 2,000 children. They found genetic markers on chromosome 17 that dramatically increase a child's risk for asthma. Children … [Read more...]

Pollution Linked to Pneumonia in Older Adults Reported December 23, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Older adults with long-term exposure to higher levels of pollution are at greater risk for hospitalization for pneumonia. "Our study found that among older individuals, long-term exposure to traffic pollution independently increased their risk of hospitalization … [Read more...]

Sleep apnea sufferers may have some more motivation to wear their breathing machines at night … it could improve their golf game. Golfers with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who received nasal positive airway pressure (NPAP) for their disorder lowered their golf handicaps by as much as three strokes. "More so than many sports, golf has a strong intellectual component, with … [Read more...]

Combined Therapy for Treating Asthma Reported July 20, 2006 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A combination therapy may be necessary to treat asthma. New research from Stockholm, Sweden, reveals asthma patients may need both inhaled corticosteroids and antileukotriene drugs. … [Read more...]

Pregnant smokers boost child cancer risk Reported January 12, 2009 Women who smoke during pregnancy greatly increase the risk their child will develop a life-threatening cancer, a new Australian study shows. Researchers assessed more than one million births recorded across NSW from 1994 to 2005, and found 948 cases in which the growing … [Read more...]

Cost-Cutting Allergy and Asthma Tests Reported March 24, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- New information suggests that if patients' primary care physicians used blood tests more often to screen for allergies, they could eliminate the need for an additional doctor's visit. The national savings might equal the cost of that … [Read more...]

Extra Test Doesn't Help Kids with AsthmaReported January 12, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Adding an expensive test to standard symptom monitoring doesn't appear to help children with mild to moderate asthma. In a new study out of the Netherlands, researchers saw equally significant improvements for children whose asthma medications were adjusted based on … [Read more...]

New Asthma Guidelines Urge Daily ControlReported August 29, 2007 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Breathing easier without limiting activities is the goal of new government guidelines that urge more attention to asthma sufferers' day-to-day symptoms, not just their severe attacks. Some 22 million Americans have asthma, and guidelines updated Wednesday by the National Institutes of … [Read more...]

New Combo Therapy for Asthma Provides Relief Reported January 25, 2005 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- An inhaled corticosteroid (budesonide) coupled with a long-acting beta2-agonist (formoterol) can provide significant improvement of asthma symptoms with less reliance on high doses of inhaled steroid, … [Read more...]

Popular Cold Drug: Concern for KidsReported January 13, 2009 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study shows Vicks VapoRub, a popular cold and cough treatment, may create respiratory problems in infants and small children. Variations of Vick's VapoRub have been around for more than 100 years. The menthol compound is widely used to relieve cold symptoms and … [Read more...]

Smoke-Free Laws Keeping Lungs HealthyReported August 04, 2008 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A law that prevents smoking in public areas is having a positive impact on public health. Since March 2006, it has been illegal to smoke in any enclosed public place or workplace in Scotland. To see how the law has impacted public health, researchers used information from … [Read more...]

Tobacco Smoke Causes Breathing Problems in Healthy Adults Reported November 16, 2006 (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- There is more proof that second-hand smoke can make non-smokers sick. Over 11 years, researchers in Switzerland studied 1,661 people who had never smoked. They report inhaling environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) can cause … [Read more...]