Atopy Can Cause Adult-onset Asthma
New research shows that hereditary predisposition to develop asthma (atopy) is a determining factor in new cases on adult-onset asthma and that avoiding allergens may help prevent adults from developing asthma.
“Are atopy and specific IgE to mites and molds important for adult asthma?” is available in the March 2006 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI), and online at http://www.jacionline.org. The JACI is the peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI).
Mexico ministry denies bird flu found at US border
Mexico’s agriculture ministry denied rumors in U.S. commodities markets on Thursday that a case of H5N1 bird flu had been found near the U.S. border.
“We are free of highly-pathogenic bird flu,” Jose Angel del Valle, the ministry’s animal health director, told Reuters.
Fish enzymes and gelatine may be the new treatment for psoriasis and eczema
A new skin cream has shown promising results in the treatment of psoriasis and eczema. The cream contains fish enzymes and gelatine and is under development by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim and the University of Bergen, Norway.
An important ingredient in the product is the enzyme zonase, which is found in fish eggs. The enzyme can break down dead skin cells without harming living cells. Used in the treatment of psoriasis, this cream helps to dead skin to flake off, while stimulating the growth of new cells.
But enzymes need water to function as they should. With typical creams, the moisture evapourates a short time after application to the skin. The challenge for manufacturers is to find a new and better method to bind water to the cream. Dr. Ingvild Haug is a specialist in fish collagen (gelatine)
Children who are open to experimenting with herbal products may be more open to trying illicit drugs
Adolescents who have ever used herbal products are six times more likely to have tried cocaine and almost 15 times more likely to have used anabolic steroids than teens who have never used herbal products, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center study to be published March 23 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
More than a quarter of the Monroe County high school students in the sample reported having ever used herbal remedies and of those, the heaviest herbal users were more likely to use illicit drugs. Teen responders decided for themselves what would be considered “herbal or other natural products, either to make you feel better, or to help you perform better at sports or school,” as asked in the survey. Herbal remedies could include products from dietary supplements such as vitamins or St. John’s wort to natural performance enhancers, such as creatine.
Younger breast cancer patients at increase risk
Women under 45 years old diagnosed with early breast cancer have a higher risk of dying from the disease than older patients, scientists said on Thursday.
“The younger the woman, the poorer the chance of survival,” said Dr. Vincent Vinh-Hung, of University Hospital in Brussels.
Breast is the most common cancer in women, with more than one million new cases detected worldwide each year. Most are in women over 50—the disease is much less common in young women.
Thailand battles major botulism outbreak
Thailand flew 17 people with severe botulism to Bangkok on Thursday, while dozens more were being treated in rural hospitals after one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the muscle-paralyzing disease.
The 17, including 12 women and a young girl, were among 160 villagers who fell ill after eating contaminated bamboo shoots during a festival in the northern province of Nan.
Treatment for Deadly Brain Tumors and Infections Discovered by Researchers
In a study published in the March 15 issue of The Journal of Immunology, researchers at Board of Governors’ Gene Therapeutics Research Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have developed a way to overcome immune privilege in the brain to eradicate potentially deadly brain tumors such as glioblastoma multiforme and other types of brain infections.
Brain tumors account for 85 to 90 percent of all primary central nervous system tumors. Of those tumors, almost 40 percent are either the deadly glioblastoma multiforme or anaplastic astrocytomas. Each year about 19,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with primary brain cancers, and close to 70 percent of those diagnosed will not survive more than five years. In addition, approximately 150,000 Americans a year are diagnosed with metastatic brain tumors, cancer that has spread into the brain from another part of the body.
