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NIH asthma outcome measures aim to maximize research investments, reduce …
Science Codex WASHINGTON, DC, March 2, 2012 – Newly proposed asthma outcome measures will help standardize and improve results from the hundreds of millions of dollars the National Institutes of Health (NIH) spends annually to study asthma, according to the Merck … Standardized outcome measures proposed for asthma clinical research |
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Churg-strauss syndrome: clinical symptoms, complementary investigations, prognosis and outcome, and treatment.
Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2011 Jun;32(3):298-309
Authors: Dunogué B, Pagnoux C, Guillevin L
Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS), first described in 1951, is a rare vasculitis of small- and medium-sized vessels. It is characterized by a constant association with asthma and eosinophilia, and by the presence of anti-myeloperoxidase (MPO) anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) in ~40% of the patients. Vasculitis typically develops in a previously asthmatic and eosinophilic middle-aged patient and most frequently involves the peripheral nerves and skin. Other organs, however, may be affected and must be screened for vasculitis, especially those associated with a poorer prognosis, such as the heart, kidney, and gastrointestinal tract, as assessed by the recently revised Five-Factor Score (FFS). Overall survival of CSS patients is excellent, but relapses are not uncommon and require maintenance or steroid-sparing therapies, depending on the original FFS-based prognosis at diagnosis. All patients require corticosteroids, often for prolonged periods, combined with immunosuppressants [e.g., induction (cyclophosphamide) and maintenance therapy (azathioprine)], for those with poorer prognoses. Recent insights, especially concerning clinical differences associated with ANCA status, showed that CSS patients might constitute a heterogeneous group, both clinically and pathogenically. Future therapies might reflect these differences more strongly.
PMID: 21674415 [PubMed – in process]
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Exposure to phthalates: Reproductive outcome and children health. A review of epidemiological studies.
Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2011 Jun;24(2):115-41
Authors: Jurewicz J, Hanke W
Phthalates are a family of industrial chemicals that have been used for a variety of purposes. As the potential consequences of human exposure to phthalates have raised concerns in the general population, they have been studied in susceptible subjects such as pregnant women, infants and children. This article aims at evaluating the impact of exposure to phthalates on reproductive outcomes and children health by reviewing most recent published literature. Epidemiological studies focusing on exposure to phthalates and pregnancy outcome, genital development, semen quality, precocious puberty, thyroid function, respiratory symptoms and neurodevelopment in children for the last ten years were identified by a search of the PubMed, Medline, Ebsco, Agricola and Toxnet literature bases. The results from the presented studies suggest that there are strong and rather consistent indications that phthalates increase the risk of allergy and asthma and have an adverse impact on children’s neurodevelopment reflected by quality of alertness among girls, decreased (less masculine) composite score in boys and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Results of few studies demonstrate negative associations between phthalate levels commonly experienced by the public and impaired sperm quality (concentration, morphology, motility). Phthalates negatively impact also on gestational age and head circumference; however, the results of the studies were not consistent. In all the reviewed studies, exposure to phthalates adversely affected the level of reproductive hormones (luteinizing hormone, free testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin), anogenital distance and thyroid function. The urinary le vels of phthalates were significantly higher in the pubertal gynecomastia group, in serum in girls with premature thelarche and in girls with precocious puberty. Epidemiological studies, in spite of their limitations, suggest that phthalates may affect reproductive outcome and children health. Considering the suggested health effects, more epidemiologic data is urgently needed and, in the meantime, precautionary policies must be implemented.
PMID: 21594692 [PubMed – in process]
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 MedIndia |
Integrative Medicine Improves Outcome in Adolescents with Asthma in Urban Areas
AccentedTouch “A new study by researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) shows that urban adolescents with asthma may experience worse outcomes when not using spiritual coping and often use complementary and alternative medicine, or integrative medicine, … Yoga, medication helps improve asthma symptoms in urban adolescents |
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Clinical features and outcome of hospitalised adults and children with the 2009 influenza A H1N1 infection at Geneva’s University Hospital.
Swiss Med Wkly. 2011;141:w13177
Authors: Lücker LM, Kherad O, Iten A, Wagner N, Descombes M, Camus V, Kaiser L, Louis-Simonet M
To describe the clinical features and outcomes of hospitalised cases of the 2009 influenza A H1N1 virus infection at Geneva’s University Hospital during the peak of the epidemic.
PMID: 21416409 [PubMed – in process]
View full post on pubmed: asthma