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Allergies
New
Vaccine Technique Offers Hope For Asthma And Allergy Sufferers
For
years, efforts to develop improved vaccines for asthma and allergies have
been thwarted because the vaccines themselves often cause the very
symptoms a person is trying to avoid. Research efforts have been aimed at
attempting to improve efficacy, increase safety, decrease treatment time
and improve compliance. Now, at a recent conference, researchers at Johns
Hopkins, the University of California at San Diego, and Dynavax
Technologies Corporation announce that they have developed a method of
modifying an allergen, such as ragweed, to create a vaccine that may solve
many of these concerns.
New
Survey Reveals Allergies Nearly Twice As Common As Believed -- Afflicting
More Than One-Third Of Americans
Yet
Most Are Unaware of Treatments That Could Help Free Them From
Symptoms Allergies affect about 38 percent of all Americans --
almost twice as many as allergy experts have believed -- and millions of
them suffer unnecessarily or rely on medications they don't want to take
because they don't know about other effective treatment options, according
to a new survey released today by the American College of Allergy, Asthma
and Immunology (ACAAI). A representative sample of 1,004 adults were
asked about their experiences with allergies. Thirty-eight percent
reported having allergies, while 56 percent said they live in a household
in which at least one member, including themselves, has allergies. The
number of people affected surprised even allergy experts who thought the
incidence of allergies was closer to 20 percent of the population.
Allergic
To School? National Jewish Provides Tips For Parents, Kids When Fall
Allergy Symptoms Arise For children with allergies, the fall season—and possibly school itself—also
can bring an array of symptoms, such as sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes,
headaches and hives
Genetic
Link Shows Children With Allergies Have Greater Tendency To Have Behavior
Problems Than Children With No Allergies
Children with severe allergies have a greater tendency to also have
significant behavior problems, such as aggressiveness, depression and
irritability than children with no allergies.
Allergy
Linked To Common Ear Infection Susceptibility
In a scientific first, researchers at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill have demonstrated that allergy increases susceptibility to
otitis media, the most common, recurrent ear infection in young children.
First
National Survey Shows Americans' Bedding Can Make Them Sick; Allergens The
Culprit Researchers armed
with vacuum cleaners collected samples of the dust in American bedding,
and though they found no "lions, tigers or bears," they found
plenty of cause for concern in terms of dust mite and cockroach allergens
at levels associated with asthma and allergies.
National
Jewish Helps Prepare You For Spring Allergies
Spring
is here or just around the corner in cities and towns throughout the
United States. National Jewish Medical and Research Center doctors, who
treat patients for a variety of allergies, have put together some of their
top health tips to get people through allergy season, including pollen and
food allergies, and spring cleaning hazards.
Essential
"Allergy Feedback Loop" Discovered By Hopkins Scientists
Blood test results from hayfever
victims testing an experimental anti-allergy drug have led investigators
at the Johns Hopkins Asthma and Allergy Center to discovery of an
essential immune system feedback loop that appears to be a basic mechanism
driving all allergies. The biochemical loop, the scientists say, links the
amount of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibody, overabundant in people with
allergies, to the number of immune cell IgE receptors, which, upon
exposure to allergens, trigger a cascade of biological events that cause
wheezing, sneezing, itching and swelling so common this time of year.
Cincinnati
Children's Researchers Uncover Critical Food Allergy Pathway
Researchers
at Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati have identified a
critical pathway that plays a key role in the development of food allergy.
The discovery, to be published in the June 6 edition of Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could lead rapidly to clinical trials
of new drugs that would block the protein eotaxin, thereby preventing
allergic reactions in the gastrointestinal tract, according to Marc E.
Rothenberg, M.D., Ph.D, the study's senior author. In the PNAS
study, Dr. Rothenberg and lead author Simon P. Hogan, Ph.D., developed the
first experimental system to analyze complex food allergies not related to
anaphylaxis (an exaggerated allergic reaction), such as allergic reactions
to peanuts. They found that the inflammatory response involved in allergic
intestinal inflammation is governed by eotaxin.
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Asthma
Nighttime
Asthma Squeezes School Attendance
Children suffering nighttime asthma attacks, which can be as severe as
daytime attacks, miss school and cause parents to miss work, and may also
perform more poorly in school, says a study by Hopkins asthma researcher
Gregory Diette, M.D., presented at the American Thoracic Society annual
meeting.
Parents
Of Children With Asthma Need To Meet With Teachers Before School Starts
When parents of children with asthma start getting school supplies
together this time of the year, they need to add another item to the list:
an asthma action plan.
Most
Comprehensive Study Of Its Kind Shows Common Asthma Medications Don't
Cause Behavioral Problems In Children The asthma medications beclomethasone and theophylline have reported side
effects, such memory, mood and behavior changes, but an article in the
March issue of the journal Pediatrics shows that in most children, the
drugs cause no major changes in behavior or reasoning skills. Both drugs
have been prescribed to treat asthma for decades.
Disorganization,
Lack Of Closeness Characterize Families Where Children With Asthma Skip
Taking Medication Children who don't take prescribed medication are more likely to be found
in families where affection isn't displayed, and where expectations and
consequences of behavior aren't expressed to the child, according to
National Jewish Medical and Research Center researchers.
Beat
Asthma At Summer Camp, and Air Pollution And Allergies, With Help From
National Jewish An asthma
action plan is one of the most important things the parent of a child with
the disease can pack away in a duffel bag for summer camp this year.
“The biggest mistake that’s made is when children are sent to camp and
no one is told they have asthma,” explains Epi Mazzei, R.N., manager of
LUNG LINE at National Jewish Medical and Research Center. “Make sure
that the camp nurse has a copy of the asthma action plan and knows the
steps to take for emergency treatment.”
Children's
Risk Of Death From Asthma Linked To Family Dysfunction
Despite
new treatments for asthma, the death rate from this disease nearly doubled
among 5- to 24-year-olds in the United States between 1980 and 1993.
Although there are no clear explanations, Robert C. Strunk, M.D., a
professor of pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine in St.
Louis, says the vast majority of those deaths could have been prevented by
appropriate care and planning. Strunk also has identified children who are
most likely to die. These children live in families that, for various
reasons, do not function or communicate well. "It's pretty clear that
the parents don't pay attention when their child has bad asthma. Conflict
or disorder in the family prevents good care or enhances the possibility
of recognizing things late. Children just get trapped," Strunk said.
Air
Pollution Hits Children With Asthma Hardest, USC Study Finds
Children
with asthma are significantly more affected by severe air pollution than
other children, according to the latest findings of a ground-breaking
10-year smog study by researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the
University of Southern California, Division of Occupational and
Environmental Health, and at other research organizations and the State of
California Air Resources Board. The Air Resources Board is the primary
sponsor of the study. The USC study, which began in 1993, is unique
in that it focuses on the long-term effects of pollution on children -- a
group considered especially vulnerable as they spend a lot of time playing
outdoors.
Take
a Deep Breath: Tips From National Jewish Medical and Research Center Help
People with Asthma, Allergies and Dry Skin Beat Winter Woes
Dogs and cats. They may be your best
friends. But if you have allergies they could be your worst enemy,
especially this winter. As weather gets colder and dogs and cats spend
more time inside, the level of animal dander rises in the home.
“The major problem is two-fold,” says Richard Weber, M.D., a National
Jewish Medical and Research Center allergist. “The first concern is that
it’s cold and the house is closed up. The second is with new homes being
‘tighter’ and less drafty than they have been in the past, there’s
less fresh air coming into the house.”
Most
Comprehensive Study Of Its Kind Shows Common Asthma Medications Don't
Cause Behavioral Problems In Children
The
asthma medications beclomethasone and theophylline have reported side
effects, such memory, mood and behavior changes, but an article in the
March issue of the journal Pediatrics shows that in most children, the
drugs cause no major changes in behavior or reasoning skills. Both drugs
have been prescribed to treat asthma for decades. "For the most
part, mainstream drugs used to treat asthma are safe-in this case safe
from psychological consequences," said Bruce Bender, Ph.D., head of
Neuropsychology at National Jewish Medical and Research Center and
principal investigator of the study. "Patients with chronic illness
in general tend not to take their medications. When a parent has doubts
about a medication, that tendency is amplified, often to the child's
detriment in the long run. We hope that this study will help alleviate
some of the fears parents may have about giving a child beclomethasone or
theophylline."
Deep
Breaths Reduce Wheezing, But Only In Non-Asthmatics
Johns
Hopkins researchers have new evidence supporting a controversial theory
that asthma is partially caused by the failure of deep breaths to relax
constricted lung muscles enough to let in more air. Hopkins
researchers exposed asthmatics and non-asthmatics to a drug that makes
lung muscles contract, as happens in asthma. They found that
non-asthmatics could reduce their reaction to the drug dramatically by
taking five deep breaths before exposure, but asthmatics experienced
little or no improvement from the deep breaths.
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Circumcision
Study
Examines Risks Of Circumcision
Parents of newborn boys have better knowledge about the possible risks of
circumcision from a new study by doctors at the University of Washington.
This report, the broadest of its kind, examined all hospital records in
the state of Washington for a study period of more than nine years. The
study finds there was a complication in one out of every 476
circumcisions.
American
Academy Of Pediatrics Releases New Circumcision Policy
After analysis of almost 40 years of medical research on circumcision, the
American Academy of Pediatrics has issued new recommendations stating that
the benefits are not significant enough for the AAP to recommend
circumcision as a routine procedure.
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Dental
Research
Fluoride
Toothpaste Linked To Teeth Discoloration In Children
Children who use too much fluoride toothpaste before age 6 may run an
increased risk of developing a condition that discolors teeth, new
research shows.
Ear
Infections
Ear
Infection Complications On The Rise
Serious
complications from childhood ear infections are on the rise, primarily
because the bacterium most often responsible for the infection is growing
increasingly resistant to antibiotics, University of Florida researchers
report.
New
Hearing Test Can Improve Diagnosis Of Middle Ear Disorders
A
new test developed by a Nebraska researcher and studied by scientists at
Ohio University could offer doctors a better diagnostic tool for middle
ear infections and other hearing disorders than currently available exams.
Allergy
Linked To Common Ear Infection Susceptibility
In a scientific first, researchers at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill have demonstrated that allergy increases susceptibility to
otitis media, the most common, recurrent ear infection in young children
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Exercise
& Physical Fitness
Exercising
Youth Can "Bank" Bone Mass To Fight Osteoporosis
A new study at Oregon State University has found that children as young as
7-8 years old can significantly increase bone mass through a brief, yet
specific weekly exercise regimen that may help them "bank" extra
bone to fight osteoporosis in adulthood.
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Medications
Common
Cold And Flu Medicines Tire School-Age Children And May Affect Learning,
Says Researcher At National Jewish Medical And Research Center
Over-the-counter antihistamines are widely available, heavily marketed,
inexpensive and regularly used by parents to control a child’s cold and
flu symptoms.
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Nutrition
and Weight Control
Will
Your Child Become An Overweight Adult? Step On The Scale
Doctors frequently encounter overweight children in their medical
practices. But without hard data to help predict whether a particular
child will remain overweight, it's difficult for doctors to know whether
they should label a child as overweight and intervene with advice on
nutrition and activity.
Too
Many Toddlers Losing Battle Of The Bulge
Many exhausted parents marvel at their preschool children, who run and
jump their way through the day and still beg to do more. But an alarming
number of children under 5 don't fit this pattern: They exercise too
little, eat too much and are seriously overweight, University of Florida
researchers say.
Children
Who Breathe Second-Hand Smoke At Home Have Lower Levels Of
"Good" Cholesterol, Study Finds Children already in danger of developing heart disease because of high
cholesterol blood levels face a "triple jeopardy" if they live
in smoke-filled homes, according to a study appearing in the Sept. 2 issue
of the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
More
Than Half Of Children Eat Too Much Fat
More than half of a group of children surveyed by Johns Hopkins get too
many of their daily calories from fat, according to a new study. Ten
percent of the children exceed the daily recommended levels of
cholesterol.
Supernutrients
Mean Super Health For Children
Salmon, butternut squash, lean beef and spinach may not sound like any
child's idea of the perfect meal. But as evidence mounts that four
supernutrients # vitamin A, iron, omega-3 fatty acids and folic acid # act
as the foundation for a child's good health, concerned parents should
consider new ways to make these foods and others like them appetizing,
said Dr. Robert Squires Jr., associate professor of pediatrics at UT
Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas.
Cholesterol
Levels Decline Among U.S. Adolescents
Total cholesterol levels among U.S. adolescents declined 7
mg/dL between
the late 1960s and the early 1990s, according to a new analysis of
cholesterol trends and levels published in the November/December issue of
Preventive Medicine. The overall downward trend in cholesterol levels
accompanies a simultaneous decline in saturated fat and cholesterol intake
among both adolescents and adults in the U.S.
Functional
Significance Of Iron Deficiency In Children
Children who suffered from severe, chronic iron deficiency as infants have
learning and behavior deficits into adolescence.
Changing
Children's Diets Today Could Reduce Bone Problems 70 Years From Now
Most of us don’t look at groups of
10-year-olds and envision them as bone-weary senior citizens, but that’s
the kind of long-range thinking behind a nutrition intervention program at
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. By having children increase
their consumption of calcium now, the program aims to keep their bones
strong and healthy past the middle of the 21st century. Through a
combination of health education, sophisticated measuring devices and
structured rewards for the participating children, the goal is to improve
eating habits, one meal at a time.
Restrictive
Feeding Passes Eating Problems From Mother To Daughter At Early Age
University
Park, Pa. - Problems and concerns about eating and weight can be passed from
mother to daughter via restrictive feeding practices when the child is as
young as five years of age, increasing the risk of childhood overweight, a new
Penn State study has shown.
School
Breakfast Participation Leads To Academic, Psychosocial Improvements
A new study by
researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and other
institutions lends support to traditional beliefs about the importance of a
good breakfast. The report in the September Archives of Pediatric and
Adolescent Medicine finds that children who increase their participation in
school breakfast programs tend to show improvement on a wide range of measures
of social and academic functioning.
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Sleep
Study
Finds Host Of Sleep-Related Problems Among School-Age Kids
A new study of parents, children and teachers finds that 37 percent of 494
youngsters in kindergarten through the fourth grade suffer from at least
one sleep-related problem. That percentage is higher than expected and is
an indication that pediatricians are not screening school-age patients
adequately for sleep problems.
Preschoolers
Who Sleep Less Have More Behavior Problems
Fewer minutes and hours of sleep add up to more problems in the daytime
behavior of children aged two to five, according to new research.
Study
Suggests Older, Preteen Children May Not Be Getting Enough Sleep To Meet
Their Daily Physical And Mental Needs
Later
Bedtime and Family Stress May Play A Role Children in the
sixth-grade may suffer adverse cognitive, behavioral and emotional
consequences due to an increased risk of being chronically sleep deprived,
according to a new study in the May issue of Developmental Psychology, a
journal published by the American Psychological Association (APA). The
study of 140 Israeli elementary school children also found that family
stress, parental age and parental education may all play a role in a
child's sleep-wake patterns.
Near-Sightedness
In Children Linked To Light Exposure During Sleep Before Age Two
Children who sleep with a light on in their bedrooms
at night before the age of 2 may be at significantly higher risk of developing
myopia - near-sightedness - when they become older than children who sleep as
infants in the dark at night, according to a collaborative study by
researchers at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and The
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. A report on the findings will appear in
the May 13 issue of Nature.
[Top of Page]
Vaccinations
Who
Is Immunizing Children In The United States? Research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National
Immunization Program shows that previous estimates of 30 to 50 percent of
children immunized in the public sector are too high.
New
Vaccine Information Center Launched, With Web Site for Parents and
Healthcare Professionals
In
response to the growing need for complete, up-to-date, reliable
information about vaccines and the illnesses they prevent, The
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has launched the Vaccine Education
Center. The Center’s Web site – http://vaccine.chop.edu
- is a major resource for educating healthcare professionals and families
regarding the often complex issues surrounding vaccines and vaccine
safety.
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