Both genetics and environmental factors determine asthma riskNovember 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - It's not just genes, environmental exposure too determines if a person would develop asthma, says a leading expert. Dr. Fernando D. Martinez, director of Arizona Respiratory Center, said that 39 potential "asthma genes" have already been identified.
Oral contraceptives 'beneficial' for asthmatic womenNovember 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has found that oral contraceptives might benefit women with asthma. The research team from McMaster University in Hamilton, ON, Canada found that women with asthma who were not taking oral contraceptives (OC) had lower exhaled nitric oxide levels (eNO), a marker of airway inflammation associated with asthma.
LSD and cannabis less harmful than alcohol, says UK govt's drug expertOctober 29th, 2009 LONDON - In what could come as a rude shock to many alcoholics and smokers, the British government's drug adviser has said that drugs like Ecstasy, LSD and cannabis are less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes. Criticising former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's decision to rate cannabis as a Class B drug, David Nutt, the chairman of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, accused him of "distorting and devaluing" scientific research.
Second hand smoke can trigger heart attacksOctober 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Non smokers can suffer heart attacks even if they are exposed briefly to cigarette smoke, says a new report of the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The US Surgeon General has confirmed that nearly 50,000 Americans die every year from exposure to secondhand or passive smoking, known to cause of other serious diseases and ailments, including lung cancer.
Impaired foetal growth ups asthma riskOctober 14th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Children born with low birth weight are at a higher risk of developing asthma later in life, says a new study. The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, is based on data on the incidence of asthma in 10,918 twins from the Swedish Twin Registry.
No link between pets and childhood asthma: StudyOctober 14th, 2009 MELBOURNE - The traditional belief that childhood asthma is linked to pets or the modern obsession with hygiene has been established as untrue by a new study. The study 'Asthma in Australian Children', published by the Institute of Health and Welfare, revealed that kids with allergies to any kind of food, grass or bees were twice as prone to be an asthma patient as children with no allergies.
Expectant mums shouldn't give up asthma medication: StudyOctober 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Women who shun asthma medications during pregnancy face increased risk of transmitting the condition to their offspring, reveals a new study. The research team from the Universite de Montreal, the Hopital du Sacre-Cur de Montreal and Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre has revealed that 32.6 percent of children born to mothers who neglected to treat their asthma during pregnancy developed the respiratory illnessin later life.
Pregnant women who ignore asthma pass it on to kidsOctober 6th, 2009 TORONTO - Women who avoid treating asthma during pregnancy are likely to transmit the condition to their offspring, say results from a study that examined more than 8,000 families in Canada. A team from the University of Montral (U-M), Hpital du Sacr-Cur de Montral (HdSE) and Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Centre found that 32.6 percent of children born to mothers who ignored their asthma during pregnancy developed the respiratory illness themselves.
India may switch to ozone-friendly anti-asthma inhalersOctober 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - When an inhaler provides relief to an asthma patient it may also be harming the ozone layer, but an NGO is advocating a complete switch to eco-friendly inhalers. "If everything goes fine, all asthma inhalers in India will use either dry powder or will use a hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) propellant," said N.
Chronic rhinosinusitis patients prone to other chronic illnesses tooOctober 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Patients of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) are also prone to suffer from other chronic illnesses like asthma, hypertension and arthritis, according to a study. The study used the electronic records of 1,970,695 patients to determine whether there was a relationship between CRS and other chronic conditions.
Breathing technique can reduce asthma severitySeptember 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Asthmatics can improve their conditions by changing the way they breathe, say experts. Thomas Ritz and Alicia Meuret, from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, have developed a four-week program to teach asthmatics how to better control their condition with the help of new breathing techniques.
Changes in humidity, temperature may trigger asthma among kidsSeptember 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Changes in humidity and temperature may trigger asthma among kids, suggests a report. Published in the journal Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, the report says that such weather changes have been found to result in a rise in Emergency Department (ED) visits for paediatric asthma exacerbations.
Smoking ban can help waiters to quit smokingSeptember 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Smoking ban in public places such as bars and restaurants also encourages those working in these places to kick the butt, finds a new study. The research led by Catalan Institute of Oncology researchers showed that 5pct of the waiters stopped smoking, and the number of cigarettes smoked by those who still smoke has fallen by almost 9pct.
Quit smoking before surgery, heal fasterSeptember 4th, 2009 LONDON - People who start nicotine replacement therapy at least four weeks before surgery can halve their risk of poor wound healing, says a new analysis. "It is not easy to quit smoking just before an operation," observes Peter Sawicki, professor and director of German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG).
Screen tests to predict future asthma attacks not effective for certain patientsSeptember 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center say that certain clinical finding and lab tests, thought to have the potential to predict future asthma attacks, may be little successful when applied to people with persistent disease who are adhering to their health care regimens. While previous reports have suggested that such screen tests can prove very helpful in predicting future asthma attacks, the researchers point out that the earlier conclusions were based on observations of patients with poorly controlled asthma who had not received care based on current guidelines.
