http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. The allergen breathed in by a person with asthma triggers a proteinase or enzyme called MMP7 that activates a cascade of events to prompt an allergic reaction, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in Houston in a report that appears online today in the journal Nature Immunology. http://phys.org/news157559554.html Medicine & Health Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:33:07 EST news157559554 (PhysOrg.com) -- David Van Sickle is looking for a few pioneering asthmatics. He wants to attach a GPS device to their inhalers before they boldly go out into a spring world filled with allergens. http://phys.org/news157306758.html Medicine & Health Thu, 26 Mar 2009 17:20:06 EST news157306758 Children with asthma have an easier time breathing if they spend even a few days in the country, safeguarded from urban air pollution, a study led by Giovanni Piedimonte, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the West Virginia University School of Medicine, finds. http://phys.org/news155892672.html Medicine & Health Tue, 10 Mar 2009 08:32:21 EST news155892672 Young children who spend more than two hours glued to the TV every day double their subsequent risk of developing asthma, indicates research published ahead of print in Thorax. http://phys.org/news155283147.html Medicine & Health Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:13:04 EST news155283147 Newborns whose first few months of life coincide with high pollen and mold seasons are at increased risk of developing early symptoms of asthma, suggests a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. http://phys.org/news154684858.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Feb 2009 08:01:30 EST news154684858 New research involving medical experts at The University of Nottingham has found that steroid tablets do not reduce the symptoms of virus-induced wheezing in pre-school children. http://phys.org/news154615011.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Feb 2009 12:37:46 EST news154615011 Coffee, elixir of the gods. Studies say drinking it can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and mouth cancer. It can prevent cavities. It can make you happier. It can kill a headache. It can make asthmatics breathe a little easier. It can ease the effects on the heart and liver of hard, heavy drinking. http://phys.org/news154356981.html Medicine & Health Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:56:55 EST news154356981 A study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins University found an association between increasing levels of indoor particulate matter pollution and the severity of asthma symptoms among children. The study, which followed a group of asthmatic children in Baltimore, Md., is among the first to examine the effects of indoor particulate matter pollution. The results are published in the February 2009 edition of the journal Environmental Health Perspectives. http://phys.org/news154264285.html Medicine & Health Thu, 19 Feb 2009 11:12:20 EST news154264285 Children whose asthma improved while taking steroid drugs for several years did not see those improvements continue after stopping the drugs, new results from a comprehensive childhood asthma study show. http://phys.org/news154105225.html Medicine & Health Tue, 17 Feb 2009 15:00:52 EST news154105225 The toxic gas formaldehyde is contained in building materials including carpeting, curtains, plywood, and adhesives. As it is emitted from these sources, it deteriorates the air quality, which can lead to "multiple chemical sensitivity" and "sick building syndrome", medical conditions with symptoms such as allergies, asthma, and headaches. The prevalence of formaldehyde and other volatile organic compounds (VOC) is greater in new construction. http://phys.org/news154101263.html Space & Earth Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:54:51 EST news154101263 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. The team reports its findings in the Feb. 16, 2009, issue of PLoS ONE. http://phys.org/news153830421.html Medicine & Health Sat, 14 Feb 2009 10:46:31 EST news153830421 Urban children with asthma engage in an average of an hour more of screen time daily than the maximum amount American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends. This is the first study to examine screen time among children with asthma. http://phys.org/news152975897.html Medicine & Health Wed, 04 Feb 2009 13:18:45 EST news152975897 (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the Duke University Medical Center and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) discovered a cause of airway irritation and wheezing after exposure to ozone, a common urban air pollutant. http://phys.org/news152899554.html Chemistry Tue, 03 Feb 2009 16:06:28 EST news152899554 Many studies have shown that breastfeeding appears to reduce the chance of children developing asthma. But a newly published study led by a University of Alberta professor has found that eating fast food more than once or twice a week negated the beneficial effects that breastfeeding has in protecting children from the respiratory disease. http://phys.org/news152263591.html Medicine & Health Tue, 27 Jan 2009 07:26:51 EST news152263591 Just when the Food and Drug Administration is reconsidering the use of stimulants to treat asthma, a new research study offers further evidence to support a University of Houston professor's theory that an opposite approach to asthma treatment may be in order. http://phys.org/news152213148.html Medicine & Health Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:26:08 EST news152213148 The largest study of its kind on preschoolers has demonstrated that preventive treatment with high doses of inhaled corticosteroids is effective in reducing the severity and duration of asthma attacks triggered by colds. Dr. Francine Ducharme, assistant director of clinical research at the Sainte-Justine Hospital Research Center and a pediatrics professor at the Université de Montréal, led the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. http://phys.org/news151852646.html Medicine & Health Thu, 22 Jan 2009 13:17:43 EST news151852646 (PhysOrg.com) -- In an invited, peer-reviewed journal article on how prenatal exposure to toxic substances are linked to a host of diseases in later life -- from atherosclerosis to cancer -- a Cornell toxicologist calls for changing how safety testing is done to better protect infants and children. http://phys.org/news151688225.html Medicine & Health Tue, 20 Jan 2009 15:37:32 EST news151688225 The level of nitric oxide (NO) in an asthmatic's exhaled breath can portend worsening asthma symptoms, and may even signify an imminent attack linked to underlying airway inflammation. This has made the monitoring of NO levels, particularly in children, of significant interest as a potential way to help clinicians fine-tune medications and improve treatment outcomes. However, a recent multi-center prospective study found that calibrating medications based on daily monitoring of the fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) and symptoms in asthmatic children showed no significant improvement over medicating based on daily symptom monitoring alone. http://phys.org/news150537448.html Medicine & Health Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:57:28 EST news150537448 If you're an asthma sufferer, make sure the medical history at your doctor's office includes your employment and recreation plans. A new screening tool developed by Tel Aviv University researchers may save you a trip to the emergency room later on. http://phys.org/news150383084.html Medicine & Health Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:04:44 EST news150383084 (PhysOrg.com) -- Children of mothers who took acid-suppressive drugs during pregnancy had a 1.5 times higher incidence of asthma when compared with children who were not exposed to the drugs in utero, finds a large population-based study by researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston. http://phys.org/news150121295.html Medicine & Health Fri, 02 Jan 2009 12:21:35 EST news150121295 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. http://phys.org/news149775159.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:12:39 EST news149775159 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, according to new research from The University of Manchester in England. http://phys.org/news149749598.html Medicine & Health Mon, 29 Dec 2008 05:06:38 EST news149749598 Mayo Clinic research shows adults with asthma are at increased risk of serious pneumococcal disease caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, the most common bacteria causing middle ear infections and community acquired pneumonia. It also causes blood stream infections and brain infections. According to the Centers for Disease Control, pneumococcal infection is one of the leading causes of death from a vaccine-preventable disease. The researchers recommend including asthma as an indication for pneumococcal vaccination in adults. The results of the study were recently published in the October edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. http://phys.org/news148917313.html Medicine & Health Fri, 19 Dec 2008 13:55:13 EST news148917313 A Kansas State University graduate student has found a correlation between childhood obesity and asthma. Sara Rosenkranz, doctoral student in human nutrition, Manhattan, conducted research that found that healthy children with higher levels of body fat and lower levels of physical activity had greater amounts of airway narrowing after exercise. http://phys.org/news148316700.html Medicine & Health Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:05:00 EST news148316700 There are no clear benefits to using long-acting beta2-agonists (LABAs) for treatment of asthma in children, a new study concludes. In an overview of recent Cochrane reviews, Child Health Field researchers report that there is currently insufficient evidence to suggest the drugs, which are recommended to relieve the symptoms of asthma, offer any additional benefit to conventional preventative medications. http://phys.org/news148103953.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:59:13 EST news148103953 Boys with asthma who are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke have higher degrees of hyperactivity, aggression, depression and other behavioral problems, according to researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. http://phys.org/news147618840.html Medicine & Health Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:14:00 EST news147618840 A new study has found that a school-based asthma education program conducted in the Oakland, California school district was shown to reduce symptoms and increase the number of days that children who suffered from asthma were able to go to school. The study will be published this month in the Journal of School Health. http://phys.org/news147532685.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:18:05 EST news147532685 Women can usually keep using the same asthma drugs they were using before they got pregnant. Budesonide sprays are the best studied and can be regarded as safe. More trials of other essential medicines are necessary however. http://phys.org/news147531230.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:53:50 EST news147531230 Tufts researchers and colleagues report that place of birth plays a role in the occurrence of asthma in a United States black population. The researchers found that within one inner-city population, blacks born in the United States were more likely to have asthma than blacks who were born outside of the United States. http://phys.org/news147354818.html Medicine & Health Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:53:38 EST news147354818 It is said that timing is everything, and that certainly appears to be true for autumn infants. Children who are born four months before the height 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. http://phys.org/news146473162.html Medicine & Health Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:59:22 EST news146473162