Welcome to Gecko Health Innovations' Blog. We are a Cambridge, MA Startup that is developing CareTRx, a set of engaging tools to improve asthma and COPD disease control andĀ medication compliance.Ā We offer a unique combination of inhaler sensors, mobile...
Our team has been on a three-year journey to create the best-in-market inhaler monitoring system for asthma and COPD patients, and a lot of exciting things have happened in the last year!
Just a few months ago we announced CareTRx, a full system to Care about your respiratory disease and Track all your medications and other journal events. It is our third-generation inhaler monitoring system, developed with a new vision to change the way respiratory diseases are managed and controlled.
We are glad to announce that our blog, as of tomorrow, has a new home on the CareTRx website: Ā www.caretrx.com/blogĀ
Please visit us as we write posts on digital health and provide the inside scoop on whatās next for CareTRx.
We canāt wait to share our thoughts and would love to hear from you!
Asthma Awareness Month and World Asthma Day (2015)
Photo: CDC.gov
May is Asthma Awareness Month and World Asthma Day is Wednesday, May 6th this year! Sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP), the goal of Asthma Awareness Month is to bring attention to daily asthma management strategies for patients and caregivers, as well as continue the conversation surrounding the condition through education. The first step the NAEPP recommends establishing a written Asthma Action Plan (or APP) between patients and their healthcare providers. APPs cover important asthma-related information, such as how to take medications to minimize airway inflammation and how to reduce exposure to environmental asthma triggers. Below are other steps that the NAEPP recommends:
-Use inhaled corticosteroids to control asthma if you have persistent asthma. Your doctor will help you choose the best treatment.
-Use a written asthma action plan to highlight two things: 1) what to do daily to control your asthma, and 2) how to handle symptoms or asthma attacks.
-Assess asthma severity at the initial visit to determine what treatment to start to get your asthma under control.
-Assess and monitor how well controlled your asthma is at follow up visits. Your doctor may need to increase, or decrease your medicine to keep asthma under control.
-Schedule follow-up visits at periodic intervals, and at least every six months.
-Control environmental exposures such as allergens or irritants that worsen your asthma.
You can learn more about how to participate here.Ā
CareTRx (formerly Geckocap) is a better method to manage your asthma medication. Visit our website to learn more.
Recent Danish Cohort Study Shows Premature Babies Outgrow Asthma Overtime
Photo: The New York Times
The New York Times recently covered an academic study titled āPrematurity and Prescription Asthma Medication from Childhood to Young Adulthood: A Danish National Cohort Study,ā which examined asthma in people who were born as premature babies. The researchers found that, for such infants, asthma goes away as they grow older. By adulthood, their asthma risk is equivalent to adults who were born as full term. The study also concluded that the more premature a baby is born, the more likely they will require asthma medication in childhood.
The study, published in PLOS One, found that 27 percent of infants born earlier than 27 weeks required asthma medication during childhood, compared with 18 percent of those born at 28-31 weeks, 13 percent at 32-36 weeks, and 9 percent at full term.
But after controlling for socioeconomic status, maternal asthma, multiple birth and other factors, they found that by adolescence, the association had weakened, and by adulthood 2.4 percent of the former preemies required medication compared with 2.1 percent of those born full term, a clinically insignificant difference.
āThere are more and more preemies,ā said the lead author, Dr. Anne Louise Damgaard, a researcher at the University of Copenhagen, āand we donāt really know what happens to them as they get older. But up to age 31, their lungs are pretty healthy. Itās possible that the differences may become more evident as they age.ā
Read the full article here.
CareTRx (formerly Geckocap) is a better method to manage your asthma medication. Visit our website to learn more.
Is Exercise the Key to Reducing your Asthma Symptoms?
Photo: The Dallas Morning News
According to a recent article published in The Dallas Morning News, exercise can be beneficial for people with asthma-related symptoms, such as wheezing, chest tightening and airway spasms. About 10% of the U.S. adults with adult-onset asthma experience exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, a type of asthma attack, which causes one to find it difficult to breath as a result of engaging in strenuous exercise. Experts, however, now recommend exercise as a way to reverse the symptoms of asthma and expand lung capacity overtime. As Albert Rizzo, senior medical adviser for the American Lung Association mentions, āTen percent of Olympic athletes have asthma, so asthma wonāt stop individuals from high functionality.. With medication, they can go a long way.ā
Asthma.org. āAsthma is very controllable, if youāre following the asthma guidelines and taking medication as needed.ā
Those guidelines, which come from the National Asthma Control Initiative, include using inhaled corticosteroids, assessing the severity of your asthma to determine what types of treatment are needed, developing and using a written asthma action plan, making regular follow-up appointments with your physician and trying to control environmental triggers. Some triggers are easy to control, such as smoking, while others ā for example, dust and mold in work spaces ā might be a little tougher to manage.
Though asthma, especially in children, sometimes seems to disappear on its own, it generally cannot be cured. It can, however, be treated effectively, with knowledge and careful management.
āFor adult asthmatics, it doesnāt tend to get better, but it doesnāt have to get worse,ā said Janna Tuck, a Missouri allergist and spokeswoman for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
Jill Selman, a high school teacher in Montgomery County, Md., had her asthma under control with medication when she began running six years ago. Three years ago, her symptoms flared up in a major way.
āI could barely run a minute anymore. A lap was hard,ā Selman said. āBut my awesome allergist ... encouraged me to exercise and run. My doctor said to do it long-term. It helps expand my lung capacity.ā
So she kept running. Slowly but surely, she was able to train for a marathon. Even when a bacterial infection called cellulitis appeared on her leg just 10 days before the race, she didnāt give up. She ran ā a little slower than sheād hoped, but she finished.
Selman wants to run the marathon again, this time as part of a charity campaign, working with kids who have disabilities. Thanks to Selmanās allergists, her asthma is controlled, with low doses of medication and allergy shots once a month.
An important tool in managing these types of asthma is recognizing the specific triggers that set off coughing, wheezing or trouble breathing. Rizzo said that for those with exercise-induced bronchoconstriction, āif you know your initial potential triggers when you go about exercise and know how to manage them, thatās all you need to do.ā
Even if thereās uncertainty about whether struggles with breathing are related to asthma or another respiratory issue, going to a physician and getting a referral to an allergist are important.
Read the full article here.
CareTRx (formerly Geckocap) is a better method to manage your asthma medication. Visit our new website here.
A new study covered by WebMD and originally published in the scientific journalĀ Nature conducted by British scientists revealed 34 new genes that may play a role in determining if people are at greater risk for developing asthma and other allergies. The researchers turned to epigenetics, a process by which gene activity is manipulated without altering oneās basic genetic code, to better understand the genetic mechanism underlying the immunoglobin E (IgE) antibody. In doing so, they identified the specific genes that regulate IgE, one of the antibodies involved in triggering allergic responses. Ā
Genes can be rendered inactive by attaching methyl molecules to the DNA, a process called methylation. The researchers analysed white blood cells from families with asthma in the UK to see whether methylation levels in certain parts of the genome were linked to the level of IgE in the blood.
Further tests were carried out on volunteers in Wales and Canada to strengthen the results.
Overactive genes
They found strong associations between IgE and low methylation at 36 places in 34 genes.
In people with asthma, these genes are overactive, making them produce more IgE which contributes to asthma symptoms.
Some of the IgE-related genes were known to encode proteins produced by a type of white blood cell that promotes inflammation in the airways of people with asthma. The researchers believe these genes may activate these white blood cells, priming them to cause the most damage.
To test this idea, they isolated the white cells from the blood of 24 subjects and showed that all 34 genes are most active in people with asthma who have high IgE levels.
Read the full article here.
CareTRx (formerly Geckocap) is a better method to manage your asthma medication. Visit our new website here.
Study: Living in Urban Settings May Not Be a Risk Factor for Asthma
A recent study covered in Medical News Today titled āNeighborhood Poverty, Urban Residence, Race/Ethnicity, and Asthma: Rethinking the Inner-City Asthma Epidemicā shows that living in urban areas is not a risk for developing asthma. Originally published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, the publication attributes living in poverty, either in cities or rural settings, and being African-American or Puerto Rican as a major risk factor for asthma. This challenges a long-standing belief that living in urban environments has been the reason for an āinner-city asthma epidemic.ā Medical News Today also discusses several strengths and limitations of the study, most notably that participants self-reported their asthma condition, a factor that may have influenced the reliability and validity of the findings.
More than half a century ago, experts spoke of an "inner-city asthma epidemic" which public health efforts focused on tackling. However, a new study suggests that the association between urban living and asthma has been overestimated.
The researchers found no difference in asthma prevalence between cities and non-urban environments.
Instead, the study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, finds that ethnicity, race and income are more significant risk factors for the development of the respiratory disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), around 18.7 million adults and 6.8 million children in the US have asthma. It is not clear precisely what causes the condition, but experts currently believe that it is most likely due to a combination of environmental and hereditary factors.
Air pollution and pest allergens are known to trigger symptoms of asthma and could more likely be encountered in urban environments. According to information provided in the study, however, the prevalence of asthma in inner-city areas across the US is unknown.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center set out to estimate the prevalence of asthma in both inner-city and non-inner-city areas of the country, as while investigating the influence of other factors on asthma risk.
Read the full article here.Ā
CareTRx (formerly Geckocap) is a better method to manage your asthma medication. Visit our new website to learn more.
Recent Poll Shows that Americans View Social Determinants, Childhood Experiences as Influencing Adulthood Health
According to a recent poll conducted by NPR, theĀ Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, many Americans believe their health is affected by lack of access to healthcare, personal behaviors, bacteria and viruses, high stress and prolonged exposure to environmental pollutants. In addition, many Americans believe their childhood experiences, including educations, socioeconomic status while growing up, location of upbringing, lack of vaccinations, and general family dietary habits have an impact on health into adulthood.
āWhen the public thinks about the causes of ill health, itās not just about germs. They also see access to medical care, personal behavior, stress, and pollution as affecting health,ā said Robert J. Blendon, Richard L. Menschel Professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
When given a list of 14 factors that might cause ill health, the top five causes cited by the public as extremely important are lack of access to high-quality medical care (42%), personal behavior (40%), viruses or bacteria (40%), high stress (37%), and exposure to air, water, or chemical pollution (35%).
Those rankings diverge, however, among ethnic groups. African Americans are more likely than whites to perceive lack of access to high-quality medical care (56% to 41%), Godās will (47% to 29%), having a low income (45% to 23%), and not having enough education (41% to 26%) as extremely important causes of individualsā health problems. Hispanics are more likely than non-Hispanic whites (46% to 31%) to say that bad working conditions are extremely important.
Low-income people (those with household incomes less than $25,000 a year) are more likely than high-income people ($75,000 a year or more) to believe poor neighborhoods and housing conditions (40% to 27%) and bad working conditions (40% to 26%) are extremely important.
āThis very important poll illustrates the dire socio-economic factors faced every day by too many people in this country. These factors can have as much, or more, impact on their health as disease ā and they know it,ā said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, President and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. āHere at the Foundation we have expanded our mission to address these factors, in order to ensure that everyone in America can attain the healthiest life possible.ā
African Americans are more likely than whites to believe eating a poor diet in childhood (55% to 42%), not getting vaccinations as a child (54% to 43%), living in poverty in childhood (47% to 31%), not graduating from high school (46% to 26%), and being born premature or underweight (34% to 20%) are extremely important.
When asked specifically about things that happen to a person in childhood that can cause health problems when they are adults, a majority (54%) said that being abused or neglected in childhood was extremely important. In addition, more than four in ten listed the following childhood experiences as extremely important causes of a personās health problems as an adult: living in a polluted area (44%), eating a poor diet (44%), and not getting vaccinations (43%).
Low-income people are more likely than those with high incomes to believe that the following childhood experiences are extremely important causes of future health problems: being abused or neglected in childhood (61% to 51%), living in a polluted environment in childhood (49% to 37%), eating a poor diet in childhood (50% to 36%), living in poverty in childhood (39% to 30%), and being born premature or underweight (30% to 18%).
A substantial number of people report having had negative experiences in childhood that they believe impacted their future health. Nearly four in ten (39%) said that they had one or more negative childhood experiences that they believe had a harmful impact on their adult health. The five childhood experiences people cite most often (from a list of 11) are the death or serious illness of a family member or close friend (18%), a serious physical injury or accident (13%), growing up in a low-income household (11%), parents divorcing or separating (11%), and a parent or other close family member losing a job (10%).
Those with household incomes of less than $25,000 a year (51%) are significantly more likely than those with household incomes of $75,000 a year or more (37%) to report one or more negative experiences in childhood that they believe had a harmful effect on their adult health.
Read the full article here.Ā
CareTRx (formerly Geckocap) is a better method to manage your asthma medication. Visit our new website to learn more.
COPD, a disease of the lungs that obstructs regular breathing, is shown to be on the rise in the United States. Glaxosmithkline, (GSK) one of the worlds leading healthcare pharmaceutical companies, recently implemented a global survey for those living with COPD, the third leading cause of death. In the last decade, COPD has risen to affect approximately 6-7% of adults over the age of 40. It is beginning to affect more women and non-smokers than before. This could be a result of pollutants in the atmosphere but it is not for certain.
As patients, caregivers and the healthcare community come together in support of World COPD Day (November 19), a GSK global survey of people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) sheds new light on the growing burden of COPD in the US. GSKās āContinuing to Confront COPD International Patient Surveyā explores changes in COPD prevalence and disease burden, comparing data from the current study with GSKās original āConfronting COPDā survey conducted ten years ago.[1],[2]
COPD is a growing problem in the US and in one decade has risen from the fourth leading cause of death to the third, after heart disease and cancer.[3] Data from the survey suggest that COPD prevalence has also increased from a decade ago, from six to seven percent of adults ages 40 years and older.
The burden of COPD on patients and the US healthcare system was also high. Twenty-six percent of US participants reported visiting the emergency room as a result of their COPD, with an additional 17 percent hospitalized within the last year ā a statistic similar to that reported in Mexico, and higher than those reported in most European countries surveyed.
The survey also revealed that many patients may be underestimating the severity of their symptoms. While more than half (54 percent) of US participants reported clinically significant dyspnea (shortness of breath), the majority (70 percent) classified their COPD as only mild or moderate in severity, demonstrating a disconnect between the level of symptoms and their own subjective assessment of the disease.
āGiven GSKās 40-year heritage in the respiratory disease area, we were keen to follow up on our decade-old landmark studyāthe first COPD cross-national, population-based survey of its kindāwith an update that helps provide insights as to how the disease and its management have evolved over time,ā said Kourtney Davis, PhD, MSPH, GSKās lead global epidemiologist on the survey.
āFrom these findings we see that the face of COPD is changing,ā added Davis. āTraditionally, COPD was considered to be a disease of elderly male smokers, but now, more women than menĀ report having COPD, and about a quarter of patients have never smoked.ā
In the US, the number of females affected by COPD (7.1 percent), was notably higher than males (6.2 percent). As a result, physicians may want to consider additional evaluation when women present with respiratory symptoms, recurrent respiratory infections, or fatigue, to assess COPD and improve outcomes. The percentage of US participants who were identified as ānever-smokersā was 25 percent ā giving researchers reason to explore additional risk factors, such as environmental or occupational exposures, and asthma, as well as consider whether symptomatic non-smoking patients need early screening and access to recommended disease management.
Read the press release
Geckocap is a better method to manage your asthma medication. Find out more here
FoxNews recently posted an article that discusses new research in regards to Vitamin D's effect on asthmatics. The study, conducted in Iran, gave supplements of Vitamin D to asthmatics for 6 months. The patients had better lung function and were able to breath easier.
However, Dr. Mario Castro, a professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Washington School of Medicine, said that the study didn't measure the effect on symptoms which is equally, if not more, important.
The study, conducted at the Medical University in Tehran, examined 130 children and adults with mild to moderate asthma. It was published inĀ Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. The study, if done in a larger spectrum and measured additional factors, could provide doctors more information regarding Vitamin D and asthma.
Asthma sufferers who received vitamin D supplements for six months, in addition to their regular inhalers, could breathe a little easier than those who relied only on the inhalers, in a recent study in Iran.
The researchers say the results - if confirmed by larger studies - might help the many people who sometimes have troublesome asthma symptoms even though they use medication.
āIt does build some on the growing amount of data that shows vitamin D might help those affected by asthma,ā Dr. Mario Castro, who was not involved in the study, told Reuters Health.
But Castro, a professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, pointed out that the researchers only measured patientsā lung function, and not whether or not their symptoms improved.
āGiven that vitamin D is a relatively benign supplement,ā the small improvement in lung function āwould be worthwhile if it was confirmed with other improvements in asthma control,ā he said, such as fewer symptoms or a reduced need for medication.
About one in 12 individuals, or 25 million people, have asthma in the U.S. alone. In the last decade, the number of people with asthma has grown by about 15 percent.
Higher rates of asthma in northern climates have led some researchers to suspect that less sunlight - and therefore less vitamin D - could be playing a role. Several studies have shown a link between low vitamin D levels and asthma.
The new study, by Dr. Saba Arshi at the Medical University of Tehran and colleagues, involved 130 children and adults with mild-to-moderate asthma.
Everyone received asthma medication in a dry powder inhaler (budesonide, sold in the U.S. as Pulmicort, or budesonide plus formoterol, sold in the U.S. as Symbicort).
In addition, half the group was randomly chosen to receive high doses of vitamin D for six months. The first dose, 100,000 units, was given by injection; then patients were instructed to take 50,000 units orally once a week.
After eight weeks, when the researchers measured the amount of air patients could exhale in one second, both groups had improved to roughly the same extent. But after 28 weeks, that amount had improved by about 20 percent in the patients who received vitamin D supplements, versus about 7 percent among those who only used the inhaler.
The authors did not respond to questions about the study, which was published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
Castro thinks the patients in the study werenāt particularly deficient in vitamin D.
āThis is another weakness as they enrolled patients with normal vitamin D levels, so (theyāre) unlikely to see a treatment effect,ā Castro said.
He would not recommend that patients with asthma take vitamin D supplements based on this study and one of his own studies, though his research found some people with deficient levels improved after supplementation.
Dr. Doug Brugge, a professor of public health and community medicine at Tufts School of Medicine in Boston, said he thought the study added to the field of asthma and vitamin D research.
āI think it adds some evidence that vitamin D may be beneficial in terms of treating asthma, which in turn contributes some evidence that vitamin D is a factor in asthma,ā Brugge, who wasnāt involved in the study, told Reuters Health.
He noted that most asthma research has focused on children, but this one included adults. āThere really is a need for more research on asthma in adults,ā he said.
But Brugge, who has studied the possible environmental causes of childhood asthma, said the study would have been more convincing if researchers had checked whether patients took their medication as prescribed (other than asking by phone) and included any exposure to environmental triggers of asthma.
āIt leaves a little doubt in my mind . . . what if the intervention group was adhering to the medication more than the control group? I think itās unlikely but it would have been nice to see that a little more clearly addressed,ā said Brugge.
āAdherence is a big problem,ā said Brugge, referring to medication use in general. āNon-adherence is more common than adherence.ā
Brugge too thinks more studies are needed before anyone can assume that vitamin D would help people with asthma.
āI think itās a reasonable hypothesis and their study and some other studies provide evidence it might be true. But I donāt think itās proven yet,ā said Brugge.
Read more here
Geckocap is a better method to manage your asthma medication. Find out more here
Non-Adherence Biggest Issue in Asthma Management Today
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Adherence to medication is the main method of prevention in chronic asthma cases. Asthma symptoms can be suppressed rather successfully with a consistent approach to medication usage. Neglecting to follow a medication regime is one of leading causes of hospitalization and even death for asthma sufferers. BBC published a recent study showing that almost one third of asthma patients in the U.K miss important hospital check-ups. This prevents doctors and healthcare professionals from being able to monitor their patients. Studies also show that a similar percentage of asthma patients in the U.S do not show up to their medical check-ups.
More than a million people suffering from asthma are missing out on key yearly checks. New analysis by charity Asthma UK found that 31% of asthma patients did not receive an "essential" annual review to check whether they are on the right medicine.
The charity said that its review of GP data for 2012/13 showed that there were 3,359,612 people in England who should have received an asthma review but 1,025,539 patients missed out.
NHS guidance suggests that everyone with asthma should get an annual review, an asthma action plan and their inhaler technique checked.
"With the worrying scale of prescribing errors identified by the National Review of Asthma Deaths, it's vital that doctors and nurses do everything they can to follow up with patients to review their medicines, especially as asthma can vary hugely over the year.
"There is also an unacceptably large variation in the numbers of people attending annual reviews, which ranges from only 52% to 79% across the UK," a spokeswoman said.
Read the original article here.
Geckocap is a better method to manage your asthma medication. Find out more here
Study: Asthma Inhaler use in Children Stunts Growth
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The Guardian recently covered two asthma studies regarding inhaler usage and growth in children. The studies were conducted by Francine Ducharme, a pediatrician at the University of Montreal. The first study analyzed published inhaler usage trials of over 8,400 children. Results showed that the growth rate for children under 18 without steroid usage exceeded the growth rate for children using steroids by approximately half a centimeter per year.
The second study followed children who were taking medication doses between 50 to 200 micrograms of inhalable steroids. The children who took higher doses were at an increased risk of stunted growth.
Children who use inhalable steroids for asthma grow slower than their peers in the first year of taking the medication, researchers say.
But doctors said the effect was so small it was easily outweighed by the clear benefits of taking the drugs, which prevent serious asthma attacks and even deaths from the breathing disorder.
Children who used the common corticosteroids to alleviate their asthma symptoms grew on average half a centimetre less over the course of a year, compared with children who did not take the medicine.
The steroids seemed to affect children's growth only in the first year and had even less of an impact on their growth rate when used in low doses of no more than 100 micrograms.
Most people with asthma use inhalers that deliver a puff of salbutamol, a non-steroidal drug that quickly opens constricted airways. But around 80% will at some point take an inhalable steroid too, which works more slowly to reduce inflammation in the airways. Some 5.4 million people in Britain have asthma, with around a million being children.
The latest findings come from two studies by Francine Ducharme, a paediatrician at the University of Montreal, and researchers at the Federal University of Rio Grande in Brazil, for the Cochrane collaboration, an organisation that publishes "gold standard" reviews of health care research.
For the first report, the researchers compiled evidence from 25 published trials of more than 8,400 children up to 18 years old. All had mild to moderate persistent asthma. From 14 trials that reported the figures, the average growth rate for children not taking steroids was six to nine centimetres a year. The range fell by half a centimetre in children who took any of six common corticosteroids used for treating asthma.
The second review looked at 22 studies of children who took low (50 to 100 micrograms) or medium (200 microgram) doses of inhalable steroids. Only three trials followed children for a year or more. They found that those on the higher doses of steroids were most affected, growing around 20mm less in a year than children who took lower doses.
Ducharme said that the small number of studies that followed the effects on children for more than a year was a "major concern", and recommended "that the minimal effective dose be used in children with asthma until further data on doses becomes available".
Samantha Walker at Asthma UK said the use of inhalable of steroids has seen hospitalisations and deaths from asthma plummet, but that three people still died from attacks in Britain every day.
"Half a centimetre in growth is a small price to pay for medicine which may save your child's life," Walker said. "Uncontrolled asthma can substantially increase the likelihood of asthma attacks, hospitalisation and even death and we know that inhaled steroids, taken regularly, significantly reduce the likelihood of these events happening."
Read the article from The Guardian here.
Check out the first and second studies.
Geckocap is a better method to manage your childās asthma medication. Find out moreĀ here
New Inhaled Drug Could Potentially Relieve Asthma and Allergy Symptoms
WebMD reports a new drug called quilizumab has the potential to treat mild asthma and allergy symptoms. The drug, targets blood cells that produce immunoglobulin type E (IgE), a protein that causes allergic reactions. In an initial study, the drug reduced total levels of IgE in patients suffering from mild asthma or allergic reactions. The levels of IgE were kept low for a month on the drug. Results also show that production of IgE was not only reduced but stopped in some cases. In early stages of testing, the drug only seems to be working with mild asthma and not with moderate to severe cases. Quilizumab is aiming to replace its rival, omalizumab, which requires one to three injections every two to four weeks. Quilizumab, on the other hand, only requires one inhalation approximately every three months.
WebMD News from HealthDay
By Dennis Thompson
HealthDay Reporter
WEDNESDAY, July 2, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- A new inhaled medication has the potential to treat mild asthma and allergies by interrupting the production of an immune system protein that triggers allergic reactions, a new study reports.
The drug, quilizumab, targets the blood cells that produce a protein called immunoglobulin type E (IgE), that serves a key role in allergies.
Quilizumab lowered total levels of IgE in the blood of people with allergies and mild asthma, and kept them low for a month, researchers report in the July 2 issue of the journal Science Translational Medicine.
"The subjects who received the drug not only had a reduction in their total IgE level, it also seemed to block production of new IgE in response to the allergen they inhaled," said study co-author Dr. Jeffrey Harris, principal medical director of immunology, tissue growth and repair for the drug manufacturer Genentech, which produces quilizumab and funded the study.
However, one expert noted that the drug has yet to prove itself against moderate to severe asthma.
IgE is present in minute amounts in the body, but plays a major role in allergic diseases.
The protein binds to allergens upon first exposure, and then triggers the release of inflammatory substances when a person is re-exposed to the same allergens, creating an allergic response and, potentially, an asthma attack.
There currently is only one medication that specifically targets IgE, an injectable drug called omalizumab that binds to the protein in the bloodstream and neutralizes it.
Experts say quilizumab has the potential to replace the existing drug because it is more convenient and longer lasting.
Patients on omalizumab must receive one to three injections every two to four weeks, Harris said. If quilizumab proves as effective as it was in this early study, patients may only need to inhale a dose every three months or so.
"This could be very exciting, if it works," said Dr. Bradley Chipps, an allergist in Sacramento, Calif. "It could be even more effective than omalizumab, which binds to IgE after it's produced. This drug tries to keep it from being produced."
Researchers tested the drug in one group of 36 allergy patients and another group of 29 people with mild asthma, randomly giving patients either quilizumab or an inactive placebo. In the study, patients were exposed to allergens and then blood samples were taken to measure levels of IgE in their bloodstream.
Quilizumab reduced overall levels of IgE, and also reduced the amount of IgE that specifically targeted the allergens to which patients were exposed, the study found. Further, the IgE levels remained lower for at least six months following the patients' last dose of the drug.
However, the drug did not have a significant effect on the early and late asthmatic responses in patients after they were exposed to an allergen, compared to placebo, said Dr. Myron Zitt, an allergist and associate professor at State University of New York, Stony Brook.
"It is interesting because it is a new drug that blocks IgE production, but when you look at the figures, it's not so impressive," Zitt said, adding that quilizumab will have to display effectiveness in treating people with moderate to severe asthma if it stands a chance of replacing either omalizumab or standard steroid treatment.
Study author Harris said a follow-up clinical trial involving 560 people with more severe asthma is underway, with results likely available next year.
Check out the article here
Geckocap is a better method to manage your asthma medication. Find out moreĀ here
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The University of Melbourne recently carried out a study testing the benefits of broccoli as it relates to asthma. Results showed that consuming one to two cups of steamed broccoli prevents asthma symptoms and potentially reverses lung damage. However, the benefits are not only limited to broccoli but are also found in other cruciferous vegetables.
These vegetables alter the airway formation making it easier to breath. This study is among others that aim to discover the benefits of dietary changes for various illnesses and will be presented at the 2014 Undergraduate Research Conference in Shanghai.
Broccoli could help asthma patients to breathe easy, a new study suggests.
According to researchers at the University of Melbourne, eating one to two cups of lightly steamed broccoli could prevent asthma from worsening.
Other vegetables belonging to the cruciferous family such as kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts, cauliflower and bok choy also help reverse lung damage, the study found.
"Laboratory tests have shown that consumption of broccoli changes the formation of the airway and may make clear breathing easier for those who suffer from asthma and allergies," said Nadia Mazarakis, who is an author of the study and an honors student at the University.
"Blockages in the airway were reversed almost entirely," said Mazarakis. "Using broccoli to treat asthma may also help for people who don't respond to traditional treatment."
The study is still in its experimental phase. Researchers said that people suffering from asthma should follow standard medical care.
The study will be presented at the 2014 Undergraduate Research Conference about Food Safety in Shanghai, China.
Cruciferous vegetables are a good source of fiber and are rich in nutrients including several carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin), vitamins C, E, and K, folate and minerals, according to the National Cancer Institute. Other researchers have been trying to understand the effects of compounds present in these veggies on cancer growth and development. Other research have shown that daily consumption of broccoli is associated with lower risk of breast, colon and prostate cancer.
Read the article here
Geckocap is a better method to manage your childās asthma medication. Find out moreĀ here
The Center for Disease Control conducts an annual survey to discover the self-reported U.S asthma rate. Results indicate a significant drop in asthma to a nine year low. 7.4% of the U.S population reported an asthma diagnoses compared to a fairly consistent rate at approximately 8.5% since 2009. The CDC is not completely convinced, having surveyed 47,000 people last year, and they are hesitant to declare its decline. Asthma is a chronic illness affecting around 3 million children and adults in the United States. One of the leading causes of asthma deaths is attributed to a lack of medication adherence.
(Reuters) - Self-reported U.S. asthma rates have fallen significantly for the first time in four years to a nine-year low, according to a survey released on Thursday, but researchers cautioned that the numbers may not mean the disease is dwindling.
About 7.4 percent of the U.S. population reported having asthma in 2013, down from a level that has hovered around 8.5 percent since 2009, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey found.
That drop represents about 3 million U.S. children and adults, CDC statistician Jeannine Schiller told Reuters.
Fewer episodes of the disease, which can causes wheezing, breathlessness and coughing, were also reported.
Last year, 3.8 percent of the population said they experienced an asthma attack, a rate not seen in over a decade and a half. In 2012, 4.4 percent of those polled reported an attack.
But Schiller said she was not quite ready to declare asthma's decline.
"We've all been kind of scratching our heads" at the finding, she said. "We have no reason not to believe it, but I think it is important to just be cautious about it."
The findings could be a statistical anomaly rather than a sign that the country has made major strides in combating the disease, Schiller said.
CDC's National Health Interview Survey polled about 47,000 people in the United States during 2013 on their experiences with asthma.
Black children saw some of the steepest declines in the disease, falling to a rate of 13.1 percent from 16.4 percent in the previous year, the study found.
Asthma is among the most prevalent long-term diseases among children, according to the CDC, although adults are also affected. While its causes are not yet fully known, environmental factors like tobacco smoke, cockroaches and mold can trigger attacks. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner; Editing by Scott Malone and Susan Heavey)
Check out the whole article here
Geckocap is a better method to manage your childās asthma medication. Find out moreĀ here
Study: Early Exposure to Dust Prevents Asthma Development in Newborns
Ā Ā Ā Ā A recent study conducted by Dr. Robert Wood, of John Hopkins Children Center in Baltimore concluded that keeping a home too clean can potentially cause future allergy and asthma flare ups in children. The study was published on June 6th in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. It specifically stated that in the first year of an infants life, it is important to expose the child to a certain level of germs and bacteria in order to develop their immune system and prevent asthma.
Ā Ā Ā The study tracked 467 newborns in urban communities from womb to birth and years down the road. Results showed that 41% of the children, who were allergy free, were exposed to a significant amount of bacteria in their household.
Atlanta, Ga. (CBS Atlanta) ā You may want to think twice before breaking out the oleā duster.
In a recent study out of Johns Hopkins Childrenās Center in Baltimore, keeping your home too clean may lead to asthma and allergy complications later in life for children.
In the study published June 6 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, researchers found that infants are far less likely to suffer from asthma or allergies later in life if they are exposed to household germs and bacteria as well as allergens from rodents, roaches, and cats in their first year of life, according to Healthy Day.
Dr. Robert Wood, co-author of the study and chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the Johns Hopkins Childrenās Center, looked at 467 newborns in inner-city communities across Baltimore, Boston, New York City, and St. Louis and tracked their health from the womb, to birth, and through the years.
Dr. Wood found that about 41 percent of children in the study without allergies grew up in households rich in allergens and bacteria.
However, the results from this study seem to contradict some prior research which reported that inner-city dwellers had higher levels of asthma after early exposure to rodent and animal droppings and allergens.
āWhat we found was somewhat surprising and somewhat contradictory to our original predictions,ā said Dr. Wood, āIt turned out to be completely opposite ā the more of those three allergens you were exposed to, the less likely you were to go on to have wheezing or allergy.ā
Despite this contradiction, the recent study does corroborate the āhygiene hypothesis,ā which posits that children raised in overly clean households are more susceptible to developing allergies because their bodies do not develop the necessary responses to everyday allergens.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 14 percent of children have been diagnosed with asthma in the U.S, while another 11 percent suffer from respiratory allergies.
This study comes on the heels of experts saying that taking a shower everyday or taking long hot baths may not be as healthy for you as once believed.
Read the article here.
Geckocap is a better method to manage your childās asthma medication. Find out moreĀ here
Asthma symptoms vary depending on a few major factors, one of them being seasonal change. With spring time approaching and children going outside to play in warmer weather, it is important to review prevention methods. A recent article posted by Dr. Michael Rosenthal on Delaware online provides a good overview. Ā Spring brings with it a slew of new triggers that can impact asthma. These include air pollution, pollen and increased exposure to animals. Thus, medication adherence is especially important during this time as it could prevent dangerous symptoms.
āChildhood asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, and can occur year-round. Now that spring has arrived and children are heading outside to play, itās a good time to consider the impact and dangers of this disease, as well as how to protect against asthma attacks.
Asthma is a chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways, causing wheezing, shortness of breath and coughing. The smaller airways within the lungs have a hard time moving air in and out, making breathing difficult.
Causes of asthma range from genetics to allergens and pollutants. No cure for asthma exists, although some children have fewer symptoms as they get older only to have it recur later in life due to certain triggers.
More than 7 million children nationwide have asthma. The disease accounts for more hospitalizations than any other childhood illness and more than 3,000 childhood deaths each year.
Aside from the health problems, asthma can affect learning and school performance. Among children ages 5 to 17, it is the leading cause of absences from school related to a chronic illness. Children with asthma miss an average of eight days per year, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
Given that asthma is activated by triggers unique to each individual, the way to control it is by keeping those triggers at bay. For example, if your childās asthma is triggered by indoor air pollution, you should not smoke in the house or anywhere near them (or, better yet, donāt smoke at all!) Lingering environmental tobacco smoke will only exacerbate their asthma. Other indoor triggers include pet hair, cockroaches, dust and mold.
Outdoor air pollution also can be a trigger. Pollen that comes from trees and grass and high ozone levels during the summer can exacerbate your childās asthma. If that is the case, you should limit your childās outdoor activity on days when the pollen count is high or when ozone levels are up. Easy-to-use air quality āappsā like the one from the American Lung Association for your smartphone or tablet can be helpful guides.
Medication is another way to control asthma. Anti-inflammatory medications lower mucus production and airway reactivity. These medications should be included as part of the treatment of all children with recurrent and persistent asthma. Bronchodilators also can be used to relax the muscles in the airways, making it easier to breathe. Some of those medications are also defined as ārescue inhalersā and should be kept within reach for easy access if an attack comes on.
It is important to identify the early signs of worsening asthma to help prevent a severe attack. Those warning signs include wheezing, tightness in the chest and severe coughing (especially at night). Itās important to pay attention to these warning signs so you can ensure your child takes their medications as soon as possible.
Itās also important to work with your childās health-care provider to establish an asthma action plan. The plan will have instructions on what to do if asthma symptoms get worse. The plan also should cover what to do if an attack occurs, such as which medications to use, when to call the doctorās office, and when a visit to the emergency department is warranted. You also should encourage your child to speak up at school to their teacher or school nurse if they experience the warning signs of an oncoming attack.
Partner with your physician to help you and your child identify the triggers, recognize the warning signs of an oncoming asthma attack and create an asthma action plan. No cure exists for asthma yet, but the proper use of the right medications can greatly diminish the dangers of this disease and lead to a happy, normal childhood.
Dr. Michael Rosenthal is chair of the Department of Family & Community Medicine at Christiana Care Health System.ā
The original article can be found here.
Geckocap is a better method to manage your childās asthma medication. Find out moreĀ here
