For hundreds of years, people have observed that asthma severity often worsens in the nighttime. One longstanding question has been to what degree the body’s internal circadian clock—as opposed to behaviors, such as sleep and physical activities—contributes to worsening of asthma severity. Harvard Medical School investigators at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and researchers at Oregon Health and...
Tag: <span>Asthma</span>
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Unique asthma therapy helps woman breathe easier
When Wendy Paige’s cough and shortness of breath didn’t go away, she knew it was more than just a cold. That was nearly 10 years ago, but she remembers the experience well. As a nurse technician working with hospice patients, Paige, now 57, was keenly aware of health issues – both hers and those of...
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Study explores why asthma worsens at night
by Brigham and Women’s Hospital Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain For hundreds of years, people have observed that asthma severity often worsens in the nighttime. One longstanding question has been to what degree the body’s internal circadian clock—as opposed to behaviors, such as sleep and physical activities—contributes to worsening of asthma severity. Using two circadian protocols, investigators...
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Critics say a childhood asthma study unethically withheld care—and see a troubling trend
By Charles Piller Aug. 12, 2021 , 2:19 PM Juan Celedón, a respected pulmonary researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, wanted to address an urgent national problem. Severe asthma attacks send hundreds of thousands of U.S. children to the hospital every year. For decades, researchers have suspected extra vitamin D—essential for bone growth and healthy...
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Collagen stiffness plays role in asthma, could lead to targeted treatment
by American Physiological Society Credit: CC0 Public Domain A new study finds that manipulating the stiffness of the collagen-based support structure of airway cells could lead to a new treatment for asthma. The study is published ahead of print in the Journal of Applied Physiology. Asthma is a respiratory condition that affects more than 300 million people...
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Release of serotonin from mast cells contribute to airway hyperresposivness in asthma
UPPSALA UNIVERSITY In asthma, the airways become hyperresponsive. Researchers from Uppsala University have found a new mechanism that contributes to, and explains, airway hyperresponsiveness. The results are published in the scientific journal Allergy. Some 10 per cent of Sweden’s population suffer from asthma. In asthmatics, the airways are hyperresponsive (overreactive) to various types of stimuli, such as cold...
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Lipid biomarkers in urine can determine the type of asthma
KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET IMAGE: SVEN-ERIK DAHLÉN, PROFESSOR AT THE INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL MEDICINE, KAROLINSKA INSTITUTET. CREDIT: MATTIAS AHLM In a new study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have used a urine test to identify and verify a patient’s type of asthma. The study, which has been published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, lays...
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Scientists reverse deadly impacts of asthma in mice
by CU Anschutz Medical Campus Credit: CC0 Public Domain Mucus in the lungs can be fatal for asthma patients, but scientists at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have broken up those secretions at the molecular level and reversed their often deadly impacts. In a study published Monday in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers explained how they...
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Steroid inhalers / pills for asthma linked to heightened risk of brittle bones and fractures
by British Medical Journal Taking steroid inhalers or tablets to treat asthma or control flare-ups is linked to a heightened risk of brittle bones (osteoporosis) and increased vulnerability to broken bones (fragility fractures), finds research published online in the journal Thorax. The higher the cumulative dose, and the longer the period of treatment, the greater these risks seem to...
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Asthma and food allergies during childhood associated with increased risk of IBS
SPINK HEALTH IMAGE: THOSE WITH IBS AT 16 WERE ALMOST TWICE AS LIKELY TO HAVE HAD ASTHMA AT THE AGE OF 12 (11.2% VS 6.7%). ALMOST HALF OF CHILDREN WITH IBS AT 16. (Vienna, October 12, 2020) Asthma and food hypersensitivity at age 12 is associated with an increased risk of having irritable bowel syndrome...