Related topics: children
Asthma
hideAsthma is a chronic inflammation of the lungs in which the airways (bronchi) are reversibly narrowed. Asthma affects 7% of the population, and 300 million worldwide. During attacks (exacerbations), the smooth muscle cells in the bronchi constrict, and the airways become inflamed and swollen. Breathing becomes difficult, and asthma causes 4,000 deaths a year in the U.S. Attacks can be prevented by avoiding triggering factors and by drug treatment. Drugs are used for acute attacks, commonly inhaled β2-agonists. In more serious cases, drugs are used for long-term prevention, starting with inhaled corticosteroids, and then long-acting β2-agonists if necessary. Leukotriene antagonists are less effective than corticosteroids but have no side effects. Monoclonal antibodies such as mepolizumab and omalizumab are sometimes effective. Prognosis is good with treatment.
In contrast to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic bronchitis, the inflammation of asthma is reversible. In contrast to emphysema, asthma affects the bronchi, not the alveoli.
The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute defines asthma as a common chronic disorder of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, airflow obstruction, bronchial hyperresponsiveness (bronchospasm), and an underlying inflammation.
Public attention in the developed world has recently focused on asthma because of its rapidly increasing prevalence, affecting up to one in four urban children.
For more information about Asthma, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with asthma
Dead Ahead: Similar Early Warning Signals of Change in Climate, Ecosystems, Financial Markets, Human Health
Sep 02, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- What do abrupt changes in ocean circulation and Earth's climate, shifts in wildlife populations and ecosystems, the global finance market and its system-wide crashes, and asthma attacks and ...
Fibre may keep asthma, diabetes at bay, study finds
Oct 28, 2009 |
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Insoluble dietary fibre, or roughage, not only keeps you regular, say Australian scientists, it also plays a vital role in the immune system, keeping certain diseases at bay.
Get smart about science: Sorting through the studies about caffeine and other choices
Feb 20, 2009 |
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Coffee, elixir of the gods. Studies say drinking it can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and mouth cancer. It can prevent cavities. It can make you happier. It can kill ...
Fall babies: Born to wheeze?
Nov 21, 2008 |
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It is said that timing is everything, and that certainly appears to be true for autumn infants. Children who are born four months before the height of cold and flu season have a greater risk of developing childhood asthma ...
Vitamin D levels linked to asthma severity
Apr 23, 2009 |
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New research provides evidence for a link between vitamin D insufficiency and asthma severity.
Consumption of nut products during pregnancy linked to increased asthma in children
Jul 15, 2008 |
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Expectant mothers who eat nuts or nut products like peanut butter daily during pregnancy increase their children's risk of developing asthma by more than 50 percent over women who rarely or never consume nut products during ...
Athletes' 'sweat and tears' linked to asthma
Sep 08, 2008 |
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An athlete's ability to sweat may do more than keep the body cool. It also may prevent the development of exercise-induced asthma (EIA), a common respiratory condition among trained athletes. New research appearing in the ...
Key to potential new treatment for allergy-induced asthma identified
May 18, 2009 |
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In research that could lead to new asthma drugs, scientists at Yale School of Medicine, Hydra Biosciences of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the University of California, San Francisco have discovered that a protein may be ...
Discovery may lead to powerful new therapy for asthma
Aug 11, 2009 |
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University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have found that a single enzyme is apparently critical to most allergen-provoked asthma attacks — and that activity of the enzyme, known as aldose reductase, can ...
Childhood wheezing with rhinovirus can increase asthma odds 10-fold
Oct 01, 2008 |
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Infants who experience viral respiratory illnesses with wheezing are known to be at increased risk for developing asthma later during childhood. It is not known, however, whether every type of respiratory virus that produces ...
Asthma: Commonly used medication shows no clear benefits in children
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 10, 2008 |
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There are no clear benefits to using long-acting beta2-agonists (LABAs) for treatment of asthma in children, a new study concludes. In an overview of recent Cochrane reviews, Child Health Field researchers report that there ...
Exhaled nitric oxide monitoring does not improve on guidelines-based asthma management
Sep 19, 2008 |
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Exhaled nitric oxide serves as a biomarker of inflammation in the lungs, and proponents have suggested that monitoring nitric oxide levels could help improve management of asthma. However, new research, which will be published ...
Enzyme and vitamin define the yin and yang of asthma
Mar 29, 2009 |
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The allergen breathed in by a person with asthma triggers a proteinase or enzyme called MMP7 that activates a cascade of events to prompt an allergic reaction, said a consortium of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine ...
Link shown between thunderstorms and asthma attacks in metro Atlanta area
Jul 10, 2008 |
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In the first in-depth study of its kind ever done in the Southeastern United States, researchers at the University of Georgia and Emory University have discovered a link between thunderstorms and asthma attacks in the metro ...
Scientists identify how gastric reflux may trigger asthma
Jul 21, 2008 |
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Researchers at Duke University Medical Center appear to have solved at least a piece of a puzzle that has mystified physicians for years: why so many patients with asthma also suffer from GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux ...
