Category: Featured Stories and Interviews

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Asthma News – Taste Receptors Found in Lungs

Taste receptors found in lungs a discovery that could transform asthma treatment says report

ABC Science Online is reporting that experiments found stimulating the receptors in the lungs with bitter substances decreased airway obstruction.

In a discovery that could transform asthma treatment, US researchers have found our lungs carry receptors for bitter tastes.

The receptors are the same as those that cluster together as taste-buds on our tongue, Deepak Deshpande from the University of Maryland and colleagues reported in the journal Nature Medicine.

In experiments using human and mouse lung tissue and mice with asthma, they found stimulating these receptors in the lungs with bitter substances decreased airway obstruction.

Airway obstruction is a problem in diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which affect some 300 million people worldwide.

“They all opened the airway more extensively than any known drug that we have for treatment of asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” says co-author Stephen Liggett.

These results came as a surprise to the scientists, who had expected bitter substances to constrict the airways rather than open them.

“I initially thought the bitter-taste receptors in the lungs would prompt a ‘fight or flight’ response to a noxious inhalant, causing chest tightness and coughing so you would leave the toxic environment, but that’s not what we found,” says Liggett.

There are thousands of non-toxic, bitter compounds that are known to activate these receptors, the scientists say. They include natural plant substances and some synthetic agents.

In their experiments, the researchers tested bitter compounds such as quinine and chloroquine that have been used to treat malaria.

But the researchers say that simply eating bitter foods would not help the treatment of asthma.

“Based on our research, we think that the best drugs would be chemical modifications of bitter compounds, which would be aerosolized and then inhaled into the lungs with an inhaler,” Liggett said.

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Asthma injection for children too expensive

Asthma injection for children too expensive says NIH in the U.K.

Press reports from the U.K. reflect that the drug called omalizumab, marketed as Xolair, is given as a monthly injection by a doctor and has been shown to reduce the number of times a child has a severe attack. But because it does not reduce the number of times a child visits A&E or their doctor, it was not deemed effective enough to justify its cost, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has said.

It costs more than £26,000 per patient per year which when the improvement in quality of life is taken into account means its cost effectiveness ratio is at least twice as much as Nice would normally approve. Although there are over one million children in Britain with asthma, only around 300 of those would qualify for the treatment because of the severity of their condition and that it cannot be controlled with other medications. The guidance applies to children under the age of 12 but older people are allowed to receive Xolair under other Nice guidance.

Nice will now re-examine the guidance for people over the age of 12 because it was acknowledged that it is best to have uniform guidelines. Sir Andrew Dillon, Chief Executive of Nice, said: “The evidence reviewed by our independent advisory committee showed little benefit for young children between six and eleven years old. “Omalizumab does not reduce hospitalisation rates, A&E visits, unscheduled doctor visits or total emergency visits. The only demonstrable benefit was in reducing the rate of clinically significant exacerbations for children who had had three or more exacerbations per year. “With such little extra benefit for these young patients, Nice is unable to recommend diverting NHS resources to such a high cost treatment. ”We understand that this may be a disappointing decision, especially as Nice does recommend omalizumab for some people aged twelve and over. The Appraisal Committee who developed the guidance on behalf of Nice recognised that it would be preferable to have a single piece of guidance covering recommendations for all age groups. In light of this, Nice does intend to review its guidance on omalizumab for both age groups at the earliest opportunity.”
A clinically significant exacerbation was defined as a worsening of symptoms requiring a doubling of medication for at least three days.

Children who already use the drug should be able to continue, Nice has said. Neil Churchill, Chief Executive at Asthma UK, said: “We are extremely disappointed that Nice has decided not to recommend Xolair for children under the age of 12. “This action will deny children across England with the most severe, allergic asthma, a pioneering treatment that many doctors tell us they want to prescribe and that could free these children from endless trips to hospital and huge amounts of time off school. “It is good news however, that the guidance indicates that those children who have already trialled Xolair and had their lives transformed, should not have their treatment withdrawn by their primary care trusts. “We are also urging PCTs to consider exceptional funding for the very small number of children who would derive significant benefit from Xolair.”

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Low VOC Paints May Still Cause Asthma and Allergies

Low VOC Paints May Still Cause Asthma and Allergies

According to Tom Lemt of the Pharos Project and the policy director of the Healthy Building Network, fumes from chemicals commonly used in water-based paints and solvents may be associated with substantially higher rates of asthma, stuffy noses and eczema. The Swedish/US joint study reported in Environmental Health News this week found that children sleeping in rooms with higher concentrations of propylene glycol and glycol ether compounds (PGEs) in the air were two to four times more likely to suffer symptoms.

Ironically, PGEs have been used more widely in cleaners and paints as manufacturers have sought to lower their VOCs (volatile organic compounds). PGEs are VOCs, but they emit at lower levels than the older, highly toxic oil solvent-based compounds. Pharos now identifies PGE compounds when they appear in paints and other products with links to this information and will watch the science for further information on the connections between asthma and chemicals in building products.

Given the lack of full disclosure of material contents in most paints and the still evolving science on other contributors to asthma, the most protective path is to choose paints with no VOCs. Paints that score 7 or higher in the Pharos VOC category have at least a manufacturer declaration that there are no VOCs (PGEs included) in the formula, including so-called “exempt VOCs.” And don’t forget the tints. Specify VOC free tints to make sure the PGEs and other VOCs that you kept out of the paint don’t sneak back in through the colorant.

The Pharos Project, a project of the Healthy Building Network, connects you to a network of building professionals and manufacturers committed to transparency as a core value on the path to sustainability. Pharos is not a certification or label, it is information: the critical health and environmental data about the manufacture, use, and end of life of building materials specified and used every day. All delivered in an easy to use web based tool. For more information go to www.pharosproject.net www.healthybuilding.net.

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Asthma Risk and Bedroom chemicals – Swedish Study Reports

Recent press reports reflcet that Children are up to three times more likely to develop conditions like asthma and hayfever due to chemicals found in some wall paints and cleansers according to a recent study conducted in Sweden

Researchers from Karlstad University in Sweden found youngsters had up to 180 per cent greater risk of developing allergies if they were exposed to chemicals known as PGEs in their bedrooms.

The study looked at the effect of PGE chemicals, which are found in some wall paints and plastic toys and packaging

Study leader Professor Carl-Gustaf Bornehag, said: ‘The study shows for the first time that the concentration of PGEs, propylene glycol and glycol ethers, in bedroom air was linked to an increased risk of developing asthma, rhinitis and eczema in children.

‘The increase in risk varied between 50 and 180 per cent. It was also found that a higher concentration of PGEs in indoor air was associated with children evincing antibodies (IgE) against allergens such as cats, dogs, pollen.

‘Our analyses also revealed that the use of water-based paint in the dwelling, as well as water-based cleansers, was linked to a higher concentration of PGEs in bedroom air.’

The chemicals can also be found in some plastic toys and packaging.

* Why babies born in autumn face higher risk of allergies

The researchers studied 198 preschool children with asthma and allergies along with 202 healthy controls in Varmland, Sweden.

Air samples were taken from the children’s bedrooms and eight groups of volatile compounds were analysed.

The children were then examined by doctors while their parents filled in a general health questionnaire about the family’s health and lifestyle.

Professor Bornehag said: ‘We have previously shown that phthalates from soft PVD could be tied to allergic conditions in children.

‘Now we have focused on PGEs. Among the substances identified are compounds suspected of disturbing hormones, which was also the case regarding the phthalates we studied earlier.’

Professor Bornehag said: ‘Our findings once again raise the question of the health-related aspects of the use of chemicals in our everyday lives.

‘Particularly when it comes to exposure in our home environments, since small children and pregnant women spend a great deal of their time there and there are many indications that exposing fetuses and infants is probably more risky.’

The scientists, whose study was published in the journal PLoS One, said further research was needed into how chemical exposure in childhood could contribute to chronic conditions.

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Fighting Asthma – UCCS Student wins Merck Award

Fighting Asthma – UCCS Student wins Merck Award Scholarship

UCCS freshman, David Lightfoot, has used his struggle with asthma to make a difference in the lives of others.

Lightfoot is one of ten scholarship recipients, explained, Gentry Lassiter, Elderman on behalf of Merck, to earn the “Will to Win” award.

The scholarship is given to outstanding high school seniors who demonstrate excellence in both school and in their daily lives while handling setbacks caused by asthma. Most recently, Lightfoot founded a nonprofit organization for underprivileged children around the world. In high school, Lightfoot pushed through personal difficulties with asthma to propose and then organize a soccer camp for the children of Honduras.

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Childhood Asthma and Antibiotic use Link?

Research team investigates whether antibiotic use triggers childhood asthma and allergies

Study looks at how intestinal bacteria changes in newborns after babies take antibiotics, and whether changes trigger certain medical conditions

A cross-Canada team of medical researchers suspects that giving antibiotics to infants in their first year of life may be the underlying trigger that causes asthma and allergies to develop later in childhood.

The researchers, from five Canadian universities, are conducting a major, $2.5-million study on how intestinal bacteria changes in newborns after the babies take antibiotics, and whether those changes trigger certain medical conditions in children. The researchers include microbiologists, epidemiologists and immunologists.

Anita Kozyrskyj, who is co-lead investigator in this new federally funded study, demonstrated in a pilot study that infants who receive antibiotics by three months of age have changes in their microbiota.

“The number of different kinds of bacteria is less,” says Kozyrskyj, a researcher in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

“Now the question is: does antibiotic use early in life change the microbiota in the intestines of children? And are these changes associated with the development of asthma and allergies in children? We are hoping to specifically pinpoint which ‘bad’ bacteria it is that is causing asthma.”

Everyone has “good” intestinal bacteria, known as microbiota, to help absorb nutrients and protect against harmful bacteria. No one is born with this; it develops throughout the first year of life. Normal development of the microbiota can be affected by various factors such as caesarean-section delivery and infant diet and medication use. By one year of age, more than 50 per cent of Canadian infants will receive an antibiotic prescription.

Studies have shown that antibiotics affect the microbiota. As well, composition of microbiota in children who have allergies is different than the microbiotia in children who don’t suffer from allergies, as demonstrated by previous research studies.

Her research will zero in on antibiotic use in the first year of life and will be conducted through a research group called SyMBIOTA, or Synergy in Microbiota Research. The SyMBIOTA team includes researchers Piush Mandhane, Dean Befus, Radha Chari and Catherine Field.

Her colleagues from the University of Toronto, co-principal investigator James Scott and researcher David Guttman, will look at the composition of microbiota from fecal samples from children aged three months and at one year; this will involve about 2,500 babies from across the Prairies and the West Coast. By extracting DNA from these samples, researchers will be able to identify the bacteria that are present in microbiota.

Tatiana Celemin’s four-month-old baby, Sara, is taking part in the research study. Celemin’s son has asthma and that is one of the key reasons the family wanted to get involved with the study—to help researchers find out more about the condition.

“Even if it doesn’t have an impact on Sara, I think it’s important for the medical research to be there to hopefully impact future generations of children.”

This research is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the AllerGen Network Centres of Excellence.

Kozyrskyj, an epidemiologist, is an associate professor of pediatrics at the U of A, and the Women and Children’s Health Research Institute research chair in maternal-child health and the environment.

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Exercise Induced Asthma Prevention Tips

Exercise Induced Asthma Prevention Tips – Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine

According to the The U.S. National Library of Medicine exercise can worsen or even trigger symptoms of asthma. Tips on how to help prevent exercise-induced asthma:

* Wear a scarf across your mouth and breathe through your nose when exercising outside in cold, dry air.
* Avoid exercising when air pollution is high.
* Avoid exercising near lawns that have just been mowed.
* Always warm up at the beginning of your workout and cool down at the end.
* Try sports that may not aggravate asthma as much as others, such as swimming or baseball.
* Avoid sports that involve constant movement, such as basketball, running or soccer.

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Boxing and Asthma – Interview with Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs

Boxing and Asthma – Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs Interview

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Former two time heavyweight champion, actor and asthma sufferer Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs reached out to the World Asthma Foundation (WAF) to talk to us about his boxing career, his struggles with Asthma since childhood and his support for Asthma suffers everywhere.

I spoke with Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs on his mobile phone in New York City, New York today in advance of his upcoming fight with Vitali Klitschko, October 16, 2010 in Hamburg Germany.

Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs is the last American to hold a heavyweight title, the only Asthma sufferer ever to win such honors and Shannon seems absolutely confident he will be the next. “I’m fighting for all of the Asthma Sufferers of the world and I hope that I can be inspiration to men, women and children not to give up on themselves” said Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs.

“Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs is truly a champion in more ways than one and is an inspiration to all Asthmatics around the globe. Asthmatics everywhere should stand up, root for and applaud this world class champion and outstanding spokesperson for the challenges of overcoming and living with Asthma” said William Cullifer, WAF Executive Director.

Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs grew up in Brooklyn, New York became New York City Golden Gloves champion, New York State Champion, National P.A.L. Champion and finished second place as a Heavyweight at the Panamerican Games in 1991,

In 1992 Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs became the United States Amateur Champion and was undefeated in his first 25 fights. Suffering only his first loss by undefeated Darroll Wilson in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in 1996. Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs went on to defeated the 49 year old George Foreman; with a lost to Lennox Lewis for the WBC heavyweight title.

Following Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs won theWBO heavyweight championship title when he knocked out Sergei Liakhovich in the last round in 2006. In your first title defense you went on to face Sultan Ibragimov on March 10, 2007; however you pulled out of the fight because he was diagnosed with “aspirational pneumonia.”

The fight was rescheduled fifty days later in Atlantic City you lost to unanimous decision. Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs us also an actor appearing on New York Undercover and in feature films Bad Boys 2 with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, Transporter 2, and The Wackness just to name a few.

Shannon “The Cannon” Briggs will fight with Vitali Klitschko, October 16, 2010 in Hamburg Germany. Details about the fight as well as post fight interviews to follow.

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Asthma comes first, not allergy, study finds – Sydney Morning Herald

Asthma comes first, not allergy, study finds

Press reports suggest that allergies are a consequence of asthma, not a cause of it, the largest genetic study of the condition has concluded.

Scientists have found seven genes linked to the development of the ailment, which could lead to new treatments.
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Researchers from Imperial College London and colleagues around the world carried out more than half a million genetic tests on 26,000 subjects.

The findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that allergies are a consequence of asthma, which causes damaged airways.

They also found that adult-onset asthma and childhood asthma were different diseases.

But the head of respiratory and environmental epidemiology at the Woolcock Institute in Sydney, Guy Marks, said he did not think the study had definitively shown that allergies were a consequence of asthma, not the cause.

”That is the conclusion the authors have drawn but I would be a bit more cautious,” he said.

He believed this type of research – including other genetic studies of asthma being conducted among Australians – might lead to better-targeted treatments and ways to prevent asthma in the first place. Australian asthma rates were among the highest in the world, said the chief executive of the Asthma Foundation NSW, Michele Goldman.

About one in nine children and one in 10 adults had it. It was thought to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, Ms Goldman said.

This research highlighted that asthmatics were better off finding a medication that worked for them than trying to avoid potential allergens, she said.

The genes were found in a third of children with asthma. Some were involved in activating the immune system; others were linked to breathing. This means treatments could be designed to correct their function.

Professor William Cookson, of Imperial College London, who co-ordinated the research, said: ”Our study highlights targets for asthma therapies and suggests that therapies against these targets will be of use to many asthmatics.”

The researchers will now look for what causes damage to the airways and why some factors seem to protect against asthma.

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National Study Shows Drug Effective for Hard-to-Control Asthma – WMTV

Information from the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics:

National Study Shows Drug Effective for Hard-to-Control Asthma

Madison, Wis. – An already available drug eases asthma in patients whose breathing problems persist while using inhaled corticosteroids, according to study results released this week.

University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers who were part of the trial say the ability to prescribe tiotropium bromide – which is already prescribed for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) under the brand name Spiriva – adds another weapon to the fight against asthma.

“This is good news because sometimes patients don’t respond to low doses of inhaled corticosteroids, and raising the dose doesn’t always work, either,’’ says Dr. Christine Sorkness, professor of pharmacy at the UW School of Pharmacy. “This gives physicians another option for patients whose asthma is not being adequately controlled.”

Sorkness and Dr. Robert Lemanske, professor of pediatrics and medicine and head of the UW division of pediatric allergy, immunology, and rheumatology at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, led the UW part of the trial, which enrolled 21 of the 210 adults who took part in the national study. Study results are being released this week in the New England Journal of Medicine and at the Annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society in Barcelona, Spain.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) supported the study, which compared three tactics for treating uncontrolled asthma. In one treatment, participants received a doubled dose of inhaled corticosteroids; in the second, inhaled corticosteroids were supplemented by a long-acting beta-agonist (salmeterol); and in the third, the inhaled corticosteroids were supplemented with a long-acting anticholinergic drug (tiotropium bromide). Anticholinergics block the nerves that tighten the muscles around the lungs’ airways whereas beta-agonists relax the muscles lining the breathing passages of the lungs.

Before the trial, the patients averaged 77 days per year when their asthma was under control and they didn’t need to use their albuterol rescue inhalers. Doubling corticosteroids gave patients another 19 symptom-free days on average, while adding tiotropium to low-dose corticosteroids gave them another 48, similar to the improvement they had on corticosteroids plus salmeterol. But increasing corticosteroids and using beta- agonists both have risks,

“This is the first study to explore adding an anticholinergic inhaler to low-dose inhaled corticosteroids,” said Dr. James Kiley, director of the NHLBI’s division of lung diseases. “The Asthma Clinical Research Network is designed to address exactly these kinds of practical and important management questions, with the ultimate goal of helping asthma patients.”

In addition to UW-Madison, other members of the Asthma Clinical Research Network who took part in this trial include: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston; Columbia University, New York City; Duke University, Durham, N.C.; The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver; University of California, San Diego; University of California, San Francisco; Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis; and Wake Forest University. The data coordinating center is at Penn State College of Medicine in Hershey, Pa.