Copyright 2008 Medical News Today Latest Respiratory / Asthma News From Medical News Today. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/asthma-respiratory/ admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin) editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors) en-us Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114113.php A study of how pediatricians prescribe asthma medications suggests that while most would readily increase a child's medication if needed, many are reluctant to taper off drug use when less might be best. A report on the study, led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center researchers, appears in the July issue of Pediatrics. Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114108.php An asthma-management study published in today's edition of the Medical Journal of Australia highlights the valuable role pharmacists can play in primary health care and chronic disease self-management, according to the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA). An abstract of the study Data-mining of medication records to improve asthma management, conducted by the University of Tasmania's School of Pharmacy, can be Mon, 07 Jul 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114075.php Resolvyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leading resolvin therapeutics company, today announced that a research team led by a Resolvyx scientific advisor and a company co-founder has demonstrated that the resolvin E1 (RvE1) effectively suppresses IL-23 and IL-17, two key inflammatory mediators of chronic inflammatory disease, in a preclinical model of asthma. RvE1 is the active ingredient in RX-10001, one of Resolvyx's leading clinical candidates. Sun, 06 Jul 2008 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/114008.php Scientists have uncovered a new target for the potential treatment of TB, finally resolving a long-running debate about how the bacterial cell wall is built. The research, published in the July issue of Microbiology reveals several molecules that could be developed into drugs to treat tuberculosis. Fri, 04 Jul 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113999.php Dangerous air pollution resulting from wildfires poses lethal health hazards to people living and working in the surrounding areas. Residents with respiratory problems such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis and also those with chronic heart disease should take extra precautions during this time and call their physician immediately if problems develop. Thu, 03 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113719.php More than 1.2 million Americans - roughly equivalent to the population of Dallas - were hospitalized for pneumonia in 2006, making this lung infection the most common reason for admission to the hospital other than for childbirth, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Treating pneumonia cost hospitals $10 billion in 2006. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113658.php "Racial/Ethnic Differences in Asthma Prevalence: The Role of Housing and Neighborhood Environments," Journal of Health and Social Behavior: The study looks at the prevalence of asthma among 10 racial and ethnic groups in New York City and how housing and neighborhood conditions can contribute to a disparity in prevalence. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 08:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113697.php Neil Churchill, Chief Executive of Asthma UK says: 'Lord Darzi has produced a blueprint for transforming quality of care in the NHS. Strong national leadership and standards will be needed to ensure that this improved quality can be enjoyed by all and not just those parts of the NHS that have been enthused by his vision. We're particularly pleased that the Government is sticking to its commitment to ensure everyone with a long-term condition is offered a care plan by 2010. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 06:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113664.php Children whose immune systems rebound after treatment with potent anti-viral drugs for HIV infection face an increased risk of developing asthma, said a federally funded consortium of researchers led by those from Baylor College of Medicine in a report that appears online in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Wed, 02 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113531.php When the world's top athletes convene next month for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, some will face a challenge that tests more than their athletic abilities. Heavy pollution in the Chinese capital could pose problems for competitors, especially those with asthma, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI). Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113507.php Outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB) may be able to be identified by looking at certain characteristics of the first two patients, according to new research. If the first two patients are diagnosed within three months of each other, live in urban areas, and if one or both are of sub-Saharan African origin, there is a 56 percent chance that the two cases will lead to a large outbreak of TB, whereas if the patients exhibit none of those characteristics, the odds are just one percent. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113487.php Researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases and The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) have identified a cell type believed to play a role in controlling the early infectious process against Francisella tularensis, a respiratory pathogen and bioterrorism agent that is the cause of tularemia. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113470.php People in low-resource countries who are ill with multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) will get a faster diagnosis -- in two days, not the standard two to three months -- and appropriate treatment thanks to two new initiatives unveiled today by WHO, the Stop TB Partnership, UNITAID and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND). MDR-TB is a form of TB that responds poorly to standard treatment because of resistance to the first-line drugs isoniazid and rifampicin. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113381.php Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have identified a novel function for an enzyme that plays a role in the tissue injury in acute respiratory distress syndrome, also known as ARDS. The finding offers a new therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of lung inflammation and injury. The research will be published in the journal Nature Immunology and is now published online. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113364.php A researcher at the University of Virginia Health System, Chengbo Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of Radiology, has received the prestigious W.S. Moore Young Investigator Award for Clinical Science from the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine (ISMRM). Wang was chosen for his research in developing a novel magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that for the first time ever identified microscopic structural damages deep in the lungs of patients with asthma. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113329.php Californians hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) could more than double their chances of survival if they are treated at one of the top-rated hospitals, according to a newly released report from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD), "Community Acquired Pneumonia: Hospital Outcomes in California, 2003-2005. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 10:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113320.php Aerocrine AB (STO:AEROB) announced that its handheld airway inflammation monitor, NIOX MINO®, has been registered for marketing and sale in China. Aerocrine's method of measuring airway inflammation, using exhaled nitric oxide (NO) tests, has also been incorporated into China's national guidelines for asthma management. Tests for airway inflammation have received a reimbursement code. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113295.php Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) represents a public health problem of substantial magnitude, and remains the leading cause of death due to infectious diseases, with an incidence ranging from 1.6 to 10.6 per 1,000 adults per year in Europe. Owing to demographic changes, elderly patients now represent about 50% of CAP patients in western countries. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113294.php Biomass fuels in the form of wood and agricultural wastes are a significant source of direct human energy consumption worldwide. Household use of these fuels dominates demand in many developing countries, particularly in rural areas. As half of the world's population still lives in rural areas, biomass fuels remain the main source of energy for most of mankind. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113293.php Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) causes limitation of airflow in the lungs that cannot be fully reversed, leading to symptoms of breathlessness, cough, wheeze and sputum production. The disease, although chronic, is interspersed with periods of acute symptomatic and functional deterioration known as exacerbations. Exacerbations have important consequences for patients and their healthcare providers. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 02:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113292.php There are close links between blood inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein (CRP), and respiratory function. So reveals a study to be published in the forthcoming issue of the European Respiratory Journal (ERJ), the peer-reviewed publication of the European Respiratory Society (ERS). Fri, 27 Jun 2008 05:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/113069.php The family of a former UNISON member has received more than £140,000 in compensation following his death from mesothelioma - a lung disease caused by exposure to asbestos in the workplace. Jim Crowe, from Wood Green in London, died aged 79, in June 2007 after developing the deadly disease. Jim, who left behind his wife, Tess, four children and four grandchildren, was exposed to asbestos while working for Greater London Council (GLC) and Haringey Council. Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112933.php The Mesothelioma Center within the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University Medical Center is now recruiting patients for a clinical research study of a new targeted radiation and chemotherapy protocol for pleural mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung's lining that is almost always caused by previous exposure to asbestos. Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112838.php Plans for appropriate respiratory protection are a major part of healthcare facilities' pandemic preparation. To assist hospitals with the complex task of protecting frontline staff in the event of an outbreak, ECRI Institute and the International Association for Healthcare Safety and Security (IAHSS) present Thu, 26 Jun 2008 00:00:00 PDT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112728.php The American Lung Association commends and thanks the U.S. House of Representatives for its passage of the Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act.