Here are what the editors at HealthDay consider to be the most important developments in Allergy for September 2007. This roundup includes the latest research news from journal articles, as well as the FDA approvals and regulatory changes that are the most likely to affect clinical practice.
Antibiotics Overprescribed for Respiratory Symptoms
FRIDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- General practitioners label most acute respiratory tract episodes as infections and overprescribe antibiotics as a result, rather than using evidence-based criteria, according to a report published online Sept. 20 in BMC Family Practice.
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FDA Suggests Barring Chlorofluorocarbons in Inhalers
FRIDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- Citing the health of Earth's ozone layer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed changing its rules to ban chlorofluorocarbon use in epinephrine metered-dose inhalers. The inhalers temporarily ease mild asthma symptoms.
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Gas Trapping Linked to Wheezing Among Preemies
FRIDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- In very prematurely born infants, wheezing at age 1 is associated with gas trapping and could be due to abnormalities of the small airways, according to the results of a study published in the September issue of the Archives of Disease in Childhood.
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Family Life Associated with Biological Impact on Asthma
FRIDAY, Sept. 28 (HealthDay News) -- The severity of asthma symptoms experienced by young people is affected physiologically by their family environment and behaviorally by their community environment, researchers report in the October issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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Familiar Doctor Linked to More Satisfaction for Urgent Care
TUESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who receive urgent medical care from family physicians or after-hours clinics affiliated with their physicians are more likely to be satisfied with the encounter than patients who use other sources of urgent care, according to research published in the September/October issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
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Racial Disparities Seen in Emergency Asthma Care Needs
MONDAY, Sept. 24 (HealthDay News) -- Among those with asthma, black patients are significantly more likely than white patients to visit the emergency department or be hospitalized regardless of disease severity, according to a report in the Sept. 24 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Intracapsular Tonsillectomy Linked to Fewer Complications
THURSDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDay News) -- The incidence of post-operative complications, such as severe bleeding and pain, is significantly lower with intracapsular tonsillectomy than with traditional tonsillectomy, according to the results of a study published in the September issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery.
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Mutations Found in Patients with Hyper-IgE Syndrome
THURSDAY, Sept. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Mutations in a signaling protein that regulates interleukin-6 have been found in patients with inherited and sporadic cases of hyper-IgE syndrome, a rare immunodeficiency syndrome characterized by dermatitis, boils, infections and bone abnormalities, according to a report published online Sept. 19 in the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Modified Wheat Flour May Benefit Celiac Disease Patients
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The gluten in wheat flour can be detoxified by transamidation with a food-grade enzyme and an appropriate amine donor that blocks T cell-mediated gliadin activity, suggesting that such interventions may help prevent cereal toxicity in patients with celiac disease, according to the results of a study published in the September issue of Gastroenterology.
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Asthma Medication May Reduce Cardiovascular Risk
MONDAY, Sept. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with asthma taking montelukast and low-dose theophylline have lower serum levels of inflammatory biomarkers and lipids than those who do not, suggesting that these medications may lower their risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a report published in the September issue of Chest.
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Risk of Childhood Asthma Higher in Affluent Countries
FRIDAY, Sept. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Children with atopic sensitization for asthma who live in affluent countries are more likely to develop symptoms of the disease, according to the results of a large cross-sectional study published in the Sept. 15 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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Breastfeeding Does Not Reduce Allergy, Asthma Risk
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Neither extended nor exclusive breast-feeding have an impact on the risk of allergy and asthma development in children, according to research published online Sept. 11 in BMJ.
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Mast Cells May Limit Contact Dermatitis, UVB Damage
TUESDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Mast cells and mast cell-derived interleukin 10 may have a previously unrecognized function that limits damage to the skin caused by ultraviolet light or dermatitis due to poison ivy or poison oak, according to the results of an animal study published online Sept. 2 in Nature Immunology.
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Exercise-Induced Asthma Common in College Athletes
TUESDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Almost 40 percent of a cohort of college athletes at a single institution had documented evidence of exercise-induced bronchospasm, researchers report in the September issue of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Furthermore, the presence or absence of symptoms did not reliably predict which athletes had bronchospasm.
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Asthma Management Poor Among Youths and Adults
MONDAY, Sept. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Among youths and adults with asthma, self-management of the disease is sub-optimal due to inadequate asthma management education, according to a report published in the Sept. 7 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
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Depression Exacts Higher Toll Than Chronic Conditions
FRIDAY, Sept. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Depression, especially when accompanied by other chronic physical health conditions, has a greater effect on reducing mean health scores than conditions such as angina, arthritis, asthma and diabetes alone, according to study findings published in the Sept. 8 issue of The Lancet.
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Gluten-Free Diet Reduces Immunity in Skin Disease
MONDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Patients with dermatitis herpetiformis, an inflammatory skin disease, have normal levels of serum interleukin-8 (IL-8) if they follow a gluten-free diet, researchers report in the September issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
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