Allergy News

Bronchial Thermoplasty Improves Asthma Symptoms

A new study shows that a new treatment called bronchial thermoplasty significantly improved breathing in people with asthma.

Bronchial thermoplasty involves delivering radio-frequency energy to the smooth muscle that lines the airway walls. The energy heats the tissue to about 149 degrees Fahrenheit. This reduces muscle mass, but doesn’t destroy or scar the muscle. With less muscle, the airway can’t narrow as much in response to irritants that often trigger asthma. Airway narrowing is a hallmark of asthma. (FoxNews.com)

Balloon Sinusplasty Offers Hope

For millions Americans who suffer from chronic sinusitis, headaches, congestion and difficulty breathing are part of the daily routine. But a new procedure being done at the Lahey Clinic in Burlington is offering new hope. (ketv.com)

Reinventing the Allergy Shot

Nearly a century after two daring London doctors made medical history by injecting hay-fever patients with a watery extract of boiled pollen, Andy Saxon is trying to reinvent the allergy shot. (USA TODAY)

Warning for Asthma Drugs Sought

U.S. regulators yesterday asked the makers of three popular asthma medications to add warnings to their labels stating that the drugs could increase the chances of severe asthma episodes that could result in death. (Washington Post)

Ionic Breeze Quadra Gets Another Bad Review

In its latest review of air purifiers, Consumer Reports (CR) has again recommended against the Ionic Breeze Quadra, despite the addition of a device meant to eliminate some of the ozone emitted by the product. Its manufacturer, Sharper Image, disputes the assessment, saying the magazine's evaluation method is flawed. (Washington Post)

NAET Treatment May Alleviate Allergies

For years, Susi Vogt could barely stomach dairy products. The 38-year-old mother of three wasn't interested in taking pills or seeing doctors, so one month ago she decided to try a naturopathic treatment known as Nambudripad's Allergy Elimination Technique. (Mississauga News)

Acid Reflux May Worsen Asthma Symptoms

Can acid reflux worsen symptoms for asthma patients?

Probably, said UAB's Asthma Clinical Research Center (ACRC), one of twenty American Lung Association-funded research facilities. (myDNA.com)

Gluten the Enemy for Celiac Disease

Now manufacturers are rolling out gluten-free equivalents of everything from pizza crusts to doughnuts, buns and cakes. Once banished to the dusty bottom shelves of obscure grocers, the gluten-free revolution is surfacing in the aisles of major supermarkets. (The Capital)

Asthma May Increase Stroke Risk

While asthma does not seem to increase the risk of developing coronary heart disease, it may be a risk factor for stroke, researchers report ... It is unclear "why asthma might increase the risk of stroke but not of coronary heart disease," the investigators write. (Reuters)

Asthma and Vitamin C

Previous population studies have suggested that the increasing frequency of asthma in Western societies may be associated with changes in diet that have led to decreased intakes of antioxidants such as vitamin C. This study investigated the possibility that decreased levels of antioxidants may also contribute to severe asthma, which imposes a considerable social and economic burden on the community. (I-Newswire)

Allergy, Asthma Gene May Ward Off Brain Tumors

There may be a silver lining for individuals who suffer from asthma or allergies. Scientists say genes that promote these disorders may also protect against a deadly brain cancer. A recent study found that asthmatics and people with allergies are at lower risk of developing the most common type of brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme. (HealthDay News)

Experts to Consider Withdrawal of Asthma Drugs

A panel of lung experts is being convened today to advise the government on whether three popular asthma drugs should stay on the market or be withdrawn because of safety concerns. The drugs are Advair and Serevent, made by GlaxoSmithKline, and Foradil, made by Novartis and sold in the United States by Schering Plough. (NYTimes.com)

Hay Fever Not Linked to Immunizations

Routine childhood immunizations do not increase the likelihood that kids will develop hay fever, according to a UK study. (Reuters)

Probiotics Help Children with Eczema

Mixing a type of beneficial or "probiotic" bacteria, Lactobacillus GG (LGG), into food helps reduce symptoms in allergic infants with the skin condition eczema, according to a report in the medical journal Allergy. (Reuters)

Cat Allergy Treatment

"The new treatment, described in this month's Nature Medicine, involves linking a feline protein that causes cat allergies to a human protein that stops immune system cells from releasing histamine, the chemical that sets off allergy symptoms."