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FDA approves Breo Ellipta to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Posted: 5/14/2013
From U.S. Food and Drug Administration:
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Breo Ellipta (fluticasone furoate and vilanterol inhalation powder) for the long-term, once-daily, maintenance treatment of airflow obstruction in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema. It is also approved to reduce exacerbations of COPD in patients with a history of exacerbations.
COPD is a serious lung disease that worsens over time. Symptoms can include chest tightness, chronic cough and excessive phlegm. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of COPD, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States.
Breo Ellipta works by decreasing inflammation in the lungs and helping the muscles around the airways of the lungs stay relaxed to increase airflow and reduce exacerbations in patients with COPD.
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Lung Volume Reduction Surgery Provides New Lease on Life for Woman with COPD
Posted: 5/13/2013
From eNews Park Forest:
July is a very significant month for Susan Fischer and her family. Her son is getting married and her daughter is expecting her second child. While Fischer can't wait for all of the excitement to unfold, she has a number of restrictions to deal with on a daily basis. She has severe emphysema, also known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is an ongoing and progressive disease that damages the lungs and makes breathing difficult. Fischer was determined to not let her condition slow her down during these important family milestones.
"I want to be able to dance at my son's wedding," said Fischer, a 65-year-old resident of Arlington Heights, IL. "That is my number one goal."
For patients with COPD, even simple tasks such as walking short distances can leave them breathless - an activity as physically demanding as dancing is impossible for many. Determined to make her goal a reality, Fischer was encouraged when Northwestern Medicine® pulmonary disease experts recommended a treatment called lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS).
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Could sucking your baby's pacifier cut allergy risk?
Posted: 5/10/2013
From ABC News:
We've all seen it. A pacifier tumbles out of a crying baby's mouth and hits the floor with a wet thump.
Maybe it bounces once or twice.
Some parents throw it right in the trash. Others boil it. Some just give it a rinse in the sink.
But some moms pick up the pacifier, put it in their mouth and hand it right back to baby, and a new study suggests the practice may be associated with fewer allergies later on.
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Swimming with asthma
Posted: 5/10/2013
From Science Alert:
New research by medical students working in the Breathe Well Centre of Research Excellence at the UTAS School of Medicine has revealed swimming has health benefits for young people with asthma, with no adverse effects on asthma control or exacerbations.
Asthma is a common condition among children and adolescents causing intermittent wheezing, coughing and chest tightness and is the main reason why Tasmanian children present at emergency departments or are hospitalised.
Director of Paediatric Education at the Royal Hobart Hospital Dr Sean Beggs, who assisted in the research, said concerns that physical exercise such as swimming could worsen asthma, had the potential to reduce participation, resulting in reduced physical fitness.
"The review aimed to determine the effectiveness and safety of swimming training in children and adolescents with asthma aged 18 years and under," Dr Beggs said.
"Our research found swimming training is well-tolerated in children and adolescents with stable asthma, and increases physical and cardio-pulmonary fitness as well as lung function."
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U.S.-born kids have more allergies, asthma
Posted: 5/3/2013
From Medline Plus:
Kids and teens who are born abroad and immigrate to the United States are about half as likely to have asthma and allergies as those who are born in the U.S., according to a new study.
Researchers surveyed the parents of 80,000 children in one of six languages and found that association held even after they took into account where families lived and how often they moved, as well as their race and income.
"This is definitely something we see clinically and we're trying to better understand, what is it in our environment that's increasing the risk of allergic disease?" said Dr. Ruchi Gupta, who studies allergies at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago but wasn't involved in the new research.
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Smoking in Youth-Rated Movies Has Doubled Since 2010
Posted: 4/24/2013
From Legacy:
A year after the U.S. Surgeon General announced that watching movies with characters who smoke causes kids to start smoking, new data show that smoking imagery has markedly increased in the movies that kids see most. Tobacco incidents in youth-rated films doubled between 2010 and 2012, returning to levels of a decade ago. Because tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and large-scale studies demonstrate that movies with smoking increases youth smoking, the rebound represents a set-back for national youth tobacco prevention goals.
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Report cites health risks of 'cinnamon challenge'
Posted: 4/22/2013
From Chicago Tribune:
The cough-inducing effects of taking the "cinnamon challenge," in which thrill-seekers try to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon without water in less than a minute, can be seen all over the Internet.
Some health experts have voiced concerns over the dare taken on mostly by teenagers, but the lead researcher in a new report to be published online Monday says it may lead to inflamed and scarred tissue common in lung diseases like pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema.
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Smoking Bans in Public Housing Could Save Dollars, Lives: CDC
Posted: 4/19/2013
From HealthDay News:
Smoking bans in subsidized housing, including public housing and rental assistance programs, would save $521 million a year, according to new U.S. government research.
The authors of the study, from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), estimated that cuts in health care costs related to secondhand smoke would account for the bulk of the savings, or $341 million annually. They pointed out that smoke-free policies are particularly important in multi-unit housing, where exposure to secondhand smoke can be particularly harmful.
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Researchers identify novel approach to study COPD and treatment efficacy
Posted: 4/12/2013
From Medical Xpress:
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have pinpointed a genetic signature for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from airway cells harvested utilizing a minimally invasive procedure. The findings provide a novel way to study COPD and could lead to new treatments and ways to monitor patient's response to those treatments.
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Asthma test helps doctor tailor treatment
Posted: 4/11/2013
From Chicago Tribune:
Inhaled corticosteroids are often used to treat asthma, but trying to figure out if the therapy is necessary - and at what dose - can be tricky.
Now, a new, noninvasive breath test called fractional exhaled nitric oxide, or FeNO, has taken away much of the guesswork about whether a patient should be on inhaled corticosteroids. The test is helping to guide treatment decisions and is the first to measure airway inflammation - the major underlying cause of asthma.
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Being overweight may make asthmatic children more vulnerable to pollution
Posted: 4/11/2013
From American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology:
Minority and low income populations have high rates of both obesity and asthma morbidity. These same populations also have a greater exposure to indoor pollutants, including microscopic airborne dust particles produced by cigarette smoke, cooking, sweeping, and traffic. This type of pollution is referred to as fine particulate matter (PM) and causes asthma symptoms. Another type of pollution, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), is produced by gas appliances, found in higher concentrations in urban homes, and also associated with asthma symptoms. Because overweight children breathe in higher volumes of air than normal weight children, their lungs may have more exposure to pollutants, thereby putting them at greater risk for asthma symptoms caused by pollutants.
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Study finds up to 75 percent of asthmatic adults have an allergy
Posted: 4/4/2013
From Fox News:
More than 25 million American children, adolescents and adults currently have a diagnosis of asthma.
Previously it was thought that underlying allergies were only prevalent in children with allergies. In fact, almost 80 percent of children with asthma have underlying allergies, so perhaps that was not necessarily the case with adults with asthma.
However, a new study published in this month?s Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology found that about 75 percent of asthma sufferers aged 20 to 40 years old and 65 percent of asthmatic adults aged 55 years and older, have at least one confirmed allergy.
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Top 100 spring allergy cities
Posted: 4/4/2013
From ABC News:
As spring arrives, flowers bloom and airborne pollen molecules bring allergy sufferers misery. To kick off the spring season, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America released a list of the top 100 U.S. allergy capitals.
Unfortunately for those suffering from hay fever, there is no such thing as a "safe" region (except maybe Antarctica).
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Achoo! Spring allergy season may be longer, stronger
Posted: 4/1/2013
From USA Today:
This year's spring allergy season is nothing to sniff at: The season may be longer and stronger, allergists say.
Blooming trees have been releasing pollen into the air, triggering allergic reactions in some people. The start of tree pollination varies across the country.
Increased mean temperatures from climate change affect tree pollination, says Richard Weber, president of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. "We are seeing trees not only pollinate earlier but also produce more pollen," he says.
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Combination of genes, cold symptoms may trigger asthma in children
Posted: 4/1/2013
From WGN:
A combination of genes and a symptom of the common cold can put kids at increased risk for asthma. It?s an association local researchers at the University of Chicago have confirmed and it may help lead to therapies to prevent the most common chronic illness in young kids.
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