Advice on Health

Peanuts may increase the risk of asthma in children who are allergic to peanuts, in case they are accidentally eaten, claims a new study. Experts have warned parents of children suffering from asthma and having allergies to nuts to remain alert and watch whatever they eat to keep their asthma under control.

The medical study, published in the Journal of Pediatrics, was conducted by the researchers from the US on 160 children aged five to 18 years. They used a regression analysis to compare the frequency of steroid use and hospitalization of asthmatic children with or without peanut allergy after three years.

Asthma rates are increasing across the United States, a new government study shows, but certain states have significantly lower rates of the respiratory disease.

The overall rate of asthma is currently estimated to be 7.85 percent of the population, an increase of about 0.5 percent every three years. But, the report also found that some states have dramatically lower rates of asthma. For example, the study found that while almost 11 percent of people in Rhode Island had asthma, just 5 percent of those living in Louisiana had the illness.

A study presented on Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in New Orleans indicate that bisphenol A (BPA) may be responsible in part for allergic asthma in children.

The research is actually an animal model study, and showed that mice that were born to mothers that were exposed BPA suffered from allergic asthma.

Mouse pups whose mothers were exposed to a common but controversial chemical developed allergic asthma, new research has found.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical commonly found in polycarbonate plastic bottles and the aluminum lining of food and beverage cans. Production of the chemical started about 40 years ago, a timing that scientists note coincides with increasing asthma rates.

People with asthma who have low levels of vitamin D fare worse than those with high levels of the “sunshine” vitamin, a new study finds.

Researchers found that asthmatics with high vitamin D levels have better lung function and respond better to treatment than asthmatics with low vitamin D levels do.

“Our findings suggest that low vitamin D levels are associated with worse asthma,” said lead researcher Dr. E. Rand Sutherland, from the division of pulmonary and critical care medicine at National Jewish Health in Denver.

Botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT), sold as Botox, works by slicing up proteins known as SNAREs, which allow cells to release various substances, reports New Scientist.

In its natural form, BoNT cleaves only those SNAREs that are specific to neurons. This prevents the release of neurotransmitters, cutting off neural communication between muscles and the brain. Different SNAREs allow other cells to release substances such as mucus or immune chemicals called cytokines.

So, Joseph Barbieri and his colleagues at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee have modified BoNT so that it slices the SNAREs found in epithelial cells. The researchers re-engineered the cutting section of BoNT molecules, installing an amino acid that has an affinity for epithelial SNAREs.

Chicago’s most vibrant neighborhoods — those with lots of restaurants, entertainment and ethnic diversity — have lower asthma rates of childhood asthma than areas lacking those amenities, according to a new study published by four Chicago doctors.

The study, published in the June issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, tracked about 50,000 children over two years. It found that children in neighborhoods that had a stable population – one that rarely moved homes – had higher incidences of asthma than in areas with a more mobile population.

Babies born during high pollen seasons are up to three times more likely to develop asthma by the age of two, a study shows.

Exposure to high levels of pollen during the first months of life boosts a child’s risk of being wheezy, say researchers.

The study of 514 children in the US found a clear pattern between asthma, wheeze and birth month emerged.

asthma

Those born between mid February to March 2000, and between late August 2000 to early January 2001, trebled their risk of wheezing before the age of two than those born outside those months.

HE WAS found dead by his bed with an empty asthma inhaler beside him. Now his mother is wondering whether his death could have been prevented had his inhaler not run out at the critical juncture? Madam Doreen Tan, 54, a cashier, was about to leave the house at 8am on Sunday when she noticed the light in her son’s room had been left on.

She told Lianhe Wanbao that as her son had often fallen asleep with the light on, she didn’t think much of it. But when she opened his bedroom door, she was heartbroken to find Mr Adrienne Tay, 26, a pet beautician, slumped over his bed.