Respiratory / Asthma News From Medical News Today
Latest Respiratory / Asthma News From Medical News Today.

• Brain Cells In Mice Destroyed By Drug Therapy For Premature Infants
  A class of drugs that are used in premature infants to treat chronic lung damage can cause damage in the brain. New research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggests the drugs may cause cognitive and motor-control problems even when they are given before birth. The researchers have identified the cells damaged by the drugs, called glucocorticoids, as well as the time window during which brain injury can occur.
• According To Canadian Research Study Asthma May Be Over-Diagnosed By Up To 30 Percent
  A new research study suggests that asthma may be over-diagnosed by up to 30 per cent in Canadian adults. The study, led by Ottawa researcher Dr. Shawn Aaron, examined 496 people from eight Canadian cities who reported receiving a diagnosis of asthma from a physician. When the individuals were retested for asthma using the accepted clinical guidelines, it was found that 30 per cent had no evidence of asthma. Two thirds of these individuals were able to safely stop taking asthma medications.
• Extending Chemotherapy Improves Control Of Lung Cancer
  A new Australian study has found that extending the use of chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer better controls the disease, as well as providing a modest improvement in survival. The study will be reported today (18/11) to the Clinical Oncolgoical Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting in Sydney.
• Asthma Over Diagnosed In One Third Of Canadian Adults
  Asthma may be overdiagnosed in countries like Canada, suggests a longitudinal study of 540 obese and non-obese adults that found approximately one third of Canadians with physician-diagnosed asthma do not have asthma when objectively tested. Asthma rates have increased in Canada and the US by 75% between 1980 and 1994, and studies suggest a possible link between obesity and asthma.
• Asthma Prevalence In Chinese Adolescents
  A study of Chinese adolescents living in mainland China, Hong Kong and Canada suggests that asthma may be influenced by environmental factors as well as genetics. Researchers based in Canada and China looked at 13,223 school children aged 13-14 from Vancouver, Guangzhou, Beijing and Hong Kong, of whom 10,924 were included in the analysis.
• Cook Medical Unveils Web Site Designed To Educate Physicians On Balloon Percutaneous Tracheostomy
  Cook Medical today further demonstrated its commitment to physician education through the launch of the Ciaglia Blue Dolphin Web site. Accessible through the Cook Medical Web site, this educational microsite is designed to provide physicians with the latest information on a new technique of percutaneous dilational tracheostomy (PDT).
• World COPD Day 2008 Features New Initiatives That Drive Enhanced Diagnosis And Treatment
  World COPD Day 2008 features new patient and health professional initiatives that address the misconceptions and lack of awareness surrounding chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
• Asthma - ZaBeCor's Investigational New Drug Application Approved By The FDA
  ZaBeCor Pharmaceuticals ("ZaBeCor" or the "Company") announces today that the United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") has approved the Company's Investigational New Drug Application ("IND") for the treatment of asthma. This approval enables the Company to proceed with Phase I clinical trials in humans for its asthma drug candidate, Excellair(TM).
• First Pivotal Trials Begin For Boehringer Ingelheim's Novel Triple Angiokinase Inhibitor Vargatef™ (BIBF 1120)
  Boehringer Ingelheim has marked a new milestone within its rapidly expanding oncology portfolio with the announcement today that the company has progressed another of its oncology compounds into pivotal phase III clinical development.
• AMPAKINE(R) Compounds May Protect From Drug-induced Respiratory Depression While Still Allowing The Sedative Or Analgesic To Continue Working
  Patients going under the knife should be allowed to breathe easy thanks to new innovations. Respiratory depression (RD) can arise during normal physician-supervised procedures such as surgical or post-operative analgesia, and as a result of normal post-operative patient management. If RD occurs while under the supervision of an experienced anesthesiologist, the outcome can usually be managed and there can be minimal long-term effects to the patient.
• Symptoms In Asthmatic Children Worsened By Traffic Pollution
  Traffic pollution, especially in cities, adversely affects respiratory health in children with asthma. A study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Respiratory Research has found that in this vulnerable group, worsening of respiratory symptoms requiring recurrent additional treatment.
• Association Between Antibodies To Cockroach, Mouse Proteins And Asthma, Allergies Risk
  A study released by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health shows that developing antibodies to cockroach and mouse proteins is associated with a greater risk for wheeze, hay fever, and eczema in preschool urban children as young as three years of age.
• More And Smaller Nanoparticles Than Previously Detected In The Home
  Extremely small nanoscale particles are released by common kitchen appliances in abundant amounts, greatly outnumbering the previously detected, larger-size nanoparticles emitted by these appliances, according to new findings* by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). So-called "ultrafine particles" (UFP) range in size from 2 to 10 nanometers.
• Smiths Medical Announces New Partnership With Great Ormond Street Hospital And University College London
  Smiths Medical announces a new five-year research partnership with Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), the Institute of Child Health (ICH) and University College London (UCL). The partnership will provide sponsorship for the Smiths Medical Professor of Anaesthesia and Critical Care at UCL.
• Cellular Safety Shelters Allow TB Agent To Survive In Infected Individuals
  "Foamy" macrophage formation may be the key to persistence of infection by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the causative agent of tuberculosis, explains a study published November 14 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens. These immunity-related cells are shown to be a safety reservoir where the bacterium can hide for years in infected individuals, before inducing an active disease.
• Asthma From Every Angle: Examined By A Leading Pulmonologist - "Education Is The Cornerstone Of Asthma Therapy"
  Over 300 million people around the world live with asthma, a chronic condition that causes airways to become inflamed and obstructs airflow to the lungs, often causing shortness of breath and wheezing. Diagnoses of asthma have surged over the past 25 years in most developed countries. Each day, 11 people die from the disease in the United States.
• Large Waist Nearly Doubles Death Risk
  A new study of people in Europe found that having a large waist nearly doubled the risk of premature death regardless of whether they were overweight or not and supports the idea that waist size or waist to hip ratio should be used to assess risk of death.
• The Dangers Of Air Pollution Both Indoors And Out Revealed By Vest Monitors
  Indoor and outdoor pollutants can rapidly harm the heart in ways different than outdoor air pollution alone, according to a new study presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008. The Cardiovascular Sub-study of the Detroit Exposure and Aerosol Research Study (DEARS) is the first study to show that two different aspects of exposure - community wide and personal - have differing adverse health outcomes on the heart and blood vessels.
• Phase 2 Study Of IMC-1121B In First-Line Treatment Of Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Starts Patient Enrollment
  ImClone Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ: IMCL), a global leader in the development and commercialization of novel antibodies to treat cancer, today announced that i