Feature Channels: Allergies

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“Obese patients aged 65-years and older are five times more likely than those of average weight to not have their asthma well controlled,” said allergist Tolly Epstein MD, lead study author and ACAAI member. “Poor asthma control can lead to a decreased quality of life and an increased risk for emergency department visits, hospitalizations and death.” This age population accounts for two-thirds of asthma related deaths.

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African-American and Latino children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are more likely to suffer from acute asthma symptoms in their teens than asthma sufferers whose mothers did not smoke, according to a new study led by a research team at UCSF.

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Adverse drug reactions are a major issue that cause harm, are costly and restrict treatment options for patients and the development of new drugs. A groundbreaking finding by researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology could lead to a new way to dramatically improve drug safety by identifying drugs at risk to cause potentially fatal genetic-linked hypersensitivity reactions before their use in man.

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Newfound details of the immune system suggest a role for never-before-considered drug classes in the treatment of allergic and autoimmune diseases, according to a University of Alabama at Birmingham study published online today in Nature Immunology. The results advance the current understanding of the way the body’s initial, vague reaction to any invading organism expands into a precise and massive counterattack.

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As the summer season approaches, allergens lurk in many places.

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Use of inhaled anticholinergics (IACs) has been associated with an increased risk of potentially dangerous heart arrhythmias among young asthma patients, according to a new study.

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New research presented at the ATS 2012 International Conference in San Francisco suggests that a significant proportion of children with asthma failing Step 4 or greater therapy may have severe asthma with fungal sensitization (SAFS).

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The relative benefits of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) treatment varies among children with differing demographic and clinical characteristics.

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Common respiratory measurements are not effective in determining which asthma patients are able to significantly decrease their use of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) medications without risk of flare-ups or exacerbations, according to a new study.

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Higher mortality rates among older adult asthma patients may be due, at least in part, to an increase in airway inflammation, according to a study conducted by researchers in Canada.

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A number of specific risk factors are associated with an exacerbation-prone phenotype of severe asthma, according to a new study from researchers in Sweden.

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The link between prenatal exposure to air pollution and childhood lung growth and respiratory ailments is well established, and now a new study suggests that these prenatal exposures can be especially serious for children with asthma.

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Expert alert - Free screening program helps people find out if they are at risk.

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Every spring and summer, millions of Americans dread the trip to the park or the playground and will do anything to avoid activities that trigger outdoor allergies.

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While summer means outdoor fun for most, it might leave the millions of Americans that suffer from seasonal allergies and asthma running for cover. Even for those that don’t suffer from grass and pollen allergies, there are five surprising summer allergy and asthma triggers, with easy ways to cope.

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New research may help explain what’s going on in the lungs of people with treatment-resistant asthma -- and aid the development of new treatment options and better ways to identify people at risk.

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Although current treatments adequately address the majority of asthma attacks, one group of patients remains underserved. These individuals suffer from “acute exacerbations of asthma” (AEA), long-lasting and severe asthma episodes in which symptoms are unresponsive to initial bronchodilator or corticosteroid therapy.

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According to a study published in the May issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI), mortality rates and health risks are greater for asthmatic baby boomers over age 60.

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Due to unseasonably warm temperatures earlier this year, 2012 has been boasted as the worst year for allergies. Yet spring has more in store for allergy sufferers as pollen counts in areas of the country begin to peak.

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While mood disorders like depression or anxiety tend to negatively affect treatment for allergies and chronic rhinosinusitis, the same cannot be said for patients with nasal obstructions such as deviated septum, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital.

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To help adults and children who have symptoms find out if they are at risk, allergists will conduct the 16th annual Nationwide Asthma Screening Program, expanding the program this year to include screening for nasal allergies.

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Life-saving inhalers are permitted by law, but often banned from the playing field. Dr. Maureen George of Penn Nursing explains.

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Children with moderate or severe asthma attacks who are treated with systemic corticosteroids during the first 75 minutes of triage in the Emergency Department (ED) were 16% less likely to be admitted to hospital.

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One of the problems that parents may have during the springtime is deciphering whether their children’s sneezing is due to a cold or allergies.

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Children who develop asthma by age seven have deficits in lung function and increased bronchial responsiveness as neonates, a new study from researchers in Denmark suggests.

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Ozone, the prevalent gas found in air pollution, and mostly experienced from March to October, can trigger severe violent breathing attacks in many people, particularly children and seniors, says a lung expert from Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston.

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The standard test used to detect milk-protein residues in processed foods may not work as well as previously believed in all applications, sometimes missing ingredients that can cause milk allergy, the most common childhood food allergy, which affects millions of children under age 3, a scientist reported here today at the 243rd National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society’s (ACS), the world’s largest scientific society.

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Greater out-of-pocket asthma medication cost was associated with small reductions in medication use and with more frequent asthma-related hospitalizations among children ages 5 years or older, according to a study in the March 28 issue of JAMA.

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Low serum adiponectin levels predict an increased future risk for developing asthma in middle-aged women, particularly among smokers, according to a new study.

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Allergy sufferers beware. Pollen counts in Atlanta area are over 50 percent higher than previous record set in 1999.

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Unusually high tree pollen count triggers poor air quality alert in the Gottlieb Allergy Count, the official allergy count for the Midwest certified by the National Allergy Bureau. Ragweed detected in the March 20 count, plus moderate weeds and low mold make for an unusual report says Dr. Joseph Leija, allergist, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, Loyola University Health System.

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Adults and children in a recent study could correctly identify, on average, fewer than half of an assortment of the peanuts and tree nuts that are among the most common food allergens in the United States.

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With every meal, immune cells in the intestine stand like sentries at a citadel, turning away harmful bacteria but allowing vitamins and nutrients to pass. Now, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified the cells that chaperone food antigens, or proteins, in the intestine so that the immune system doesn’t mount an attack. Their discovery provides scientists with a potential target for therapies against inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease and food allergies.

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An unseasonal increase in pollen is aggravating allergies says the Loyola allergist who performs the official allergy count for the Midwest for the National Allergy Bureau.

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A Saint Louis University allergist offers tips to distinguish between the common cold and allergies.

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Merck announces data presented at the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI) Annual Meeting in Orlando.

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This winter's unseasonably warm temperatures may spell a longer allergy season nationwide.

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Asthma is a serious disease, causing 4,000 deaths yearly. The recent death of journalist Anthony Shadid underscores this danger. Study results report 79 percent of asthma sufferers who should be on controller medications are not.

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Read about the five things you might be doing that are actually making your spring allergy symptoms worse.

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The tragic death of journalist Anthony Shadid due to asthma and allergies underscores the realities of these serious diseases. Asthma is responsible for almost 4,000 deaths a year. An asthma attack is often triggered by allergens such as pollen, dust and animal dander.

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Many pregnant women who suffer from asthma are putting their unborn child’s health at risk by failing to use the right medication, according to a University of Adelaide researcher.

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Almost 130,000 people have been screened since the start of the Nationwide Asthma Screening Program, with half of those screened referred for a diagnosis. Continued financial support by Teva Respiratory provides the funding for the public education materials, publicity and resources needed to conduct screenings.

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Dr. Fineman is available to discuss how the warmer than usual winter season is affecting spring allergy sufferers. Is this happening just in southern states or throughout the country? Will the season last longer this year? When should you start taking your allergy medication? What can you do to find relief?

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Breastfeeding is associated with improved lung function at school age, particularly in children of asthmatic mothers, according to a new study from researchers in Switzerland and the UK.

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A team of resource economist researchers has revised the cost burden sharply upward for childhood asthma and for the first time include the number of cases attributable to air pollution, in a study released this week in the early online version of the European Respiratory Journal.

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Children without symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux whose asthma was being poorly controlled with anti-inflammatory treatment did not have an improvement in symptoms or lung function with the added treatment of the proton pump inhibitor lansoprazole, compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the January 25 issue of JAMA. Use of lansoprazole was associated with increased adverse events.

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A randomized clinic trial conducted by the American Lung Association’s Asthma Clinical Group found that the addition of lansoprazole does not improve asthma symptoms or the control of asthma in children and may increase the risk for upper respiratory infections and other adverse events.

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Accelerated growth in the first three months of life, but not fetal growth, is associated with an increased risk of asthma symptoms in young children, according to a new study from The Generation R Study Group at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands.

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What are lovebirds to do when kissing triggers an allergic reaction? And, when things turn more intimate, allergies can be disruptive as well.

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Allergies to Plavix®, also know by its chemical name, Clopidogrel occur in about six percent of patients given the drug, vital for the prevention of life-threatening stent thrombosis after angioplasty and percutaneous coronary interventions. Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University found that a combination of steroids and antihistamines can successfully alleviate the allergic reaction and enable patients to remain on the drug. Until now, hypersensitivity required drug interruption, placing the patient at risk for restenosis or a major coronary event.