Allergy News

The following summary reviews some of the highlights of the year in asthma research. For fuller accounts, links to the individual articles published in MedPage Today have been provided.

Mortality

Despite the decline in mortality reported at the 2006 annual meeting of American College of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology, asthma still accounts for one of every 250 deaths worldwide, many of which could have been prevented with better medical care.

• ACAAI: Asthma Deaths Decline Worldwide

Asthmatx Inc., a medical device company that focuses on a catheter-based procedure for the treatment for asthma, said Wednesday its investigational treatment was named one of the Top Ten Medical Innovations for 2007 by the Cleveland Clinic.

Mountain View-based Asthmatx said the list recognizes breakthrough medical technologies that have the potential to have an impact on health care in 2007.

Asthmatx said its bronchial thermoplasty, a minimally-invasive procedure, is a non-drug treatment for asthma that is currently under clinical investigation at more than 30 research centers around the world.

Q. I have a daughter who just started kindergarten and one in preschool. My older daughter has bad allergies, and it seems like all the kids in both girls' schools have runny noses. I'd like some guidelines about allergies and how to recognize a sinus infection versus a cold. a mother and teacher in Charlotte

The cold-allergies question is complex, says a pediatrician and father in Concord. "This is something we struggle with as pediatricians every day," says Dr. Greg Guerriero.

Teachers reluctantly deal with the issue as well, wondering whether their snotty-nosed charges should be at home.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Under-the-tongue or "sublingual" immunotherapy -- what doctors call SLIT -- is cost-effective for treating adults with pollen-induced respiratory allergy, according to a report.

SLIT is not officially in use in the United States, although some allergists use it "with satisfactory results," Dr. Giovanni Passalacqua from University of Genoa, Italy told Reuters Health. "The problem is formal, due to the fact that SLIT has not the approval of the FDA. Clinical studies endorsed by the FDA are currently ongoing to get the approval."

"In Europe the situation is completely different, and SLIT is widely used in many countries (e.g., Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece, and Hungary)," Passalacqua said.

Toyota Motor Corp. intends to agree to a health-care subsidy plan as part of a settlement with asthma patients who sued Toyota and six other automakers, claiming exhaust fumes from diesel vehicles caused their disease, informed sources said.

The suit, now pending at the Tokyo High Court, seeks compensation from the manufacturers as well as the central government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

The health-care plan was proposed by the metropolitan government last month. Toyota is the first carmaker indicating it intends to accept the plan, the sources said.

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Abstract

The pool chlorine hypothesis postulates that the rise in childhood asthma in the developed world could result at least partly from the increasing exposure of children to toxic gases and aerosols contaminating the air of indoor chlorinated pools. To further assess this hypothesis, we explored the relationships between childhood asthma, atopy, and cumulated pool attendance (CPA). We studied 341 schoolchildren 10-13 years of age who attended at a variable rate the same public pool in Brussels (trichloramine in air, 0.3-0.5 mg/m3). Examination of the children included a questionnaire, an exercise-induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) test, and the measurement of exhaled nitric oxide (eNO) and total and aeroallergen-specific serum IgE. CPA by children (range, 0-1,818 hr) emerged among the most consistent predictors of asthma (doctor diagnosed or screened with the EIB test) and of elevated eNO, ranking immediately after atopy and family history of asthma or hay fever. Although the risk of elevated eNO increased with CPA [odds ratio (OR) = 1.30 ; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10-1.43] independently of total or specific serum IgE, the probability of developing asthma increased with CPA only in children with serum IgE > 100 kIU/L (OR for each 100-hr increase in CPA = 1.79; 95% CI, 1.07-2.72). All these effects were dose related and most strongly linked to pool attendance before 6-7 years of age. Use of indoor chlorinated pools especially by young children interacts with atopic status to promote the development of childhood asthma. These findings further support the hypothesis implicating pool chlorine in the rise of childhood asthma in industrialized countries.

Abstract

Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD) is an important disease with high quality of life and economic impact. Patch testing is the procedure by which identification of the cause of ACD can be elicited. Proper performance of the test, from taking an appropriate patient history to placing the correct allergens to evaluating and educating the patient, is of utmost importance. The purpose of this article is to highlight common allergens encountered in our environment, to increase awareness for this important disease, and to underscore the importance of this testing modality. An early index of suspicion can lead to appropriate testing, diagnosis, avoidance, and cure.

JAPAN - The proportion of schoolchildren suffering from asthma has more than doubled in the last 10 years to the highest level ever, an education ministry survey showed Thursday.

"In light of the increase not only in asthma but also in other types of allergies, the growth can be attributed to various factors, including air pollution and lifestyles," an Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry official said. "It's difficult to pinpoint a cause."

The preliminary figures are based on health checkup data for about 3.36 million children from kindergarten through high school across the country. The ministry conducted the research between April and June.

LONDON (AFX) - Vectura Group PLC has struck a US collaboration and development deal with a 'leading international pharmaceutical company' for its generic combination asthma therapy, VR315.

In a statement, the British drug developer said it will share the profits from any eventual sales of the product, and could receive up to 63 mln usd in milestone payments.

The therapy is thought to be a copycat version of GlaxoSmithKline PLC's top-selling asthma drug Advair, which generated sales of 3 bln stg last year and will lose patent protection in around 2010.

ST. LOUIS — People with wheat allergies who have stayed away from beer now have a new option.

Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. today introduced Redbridge, which the company called the first nationally available sorghum beer. Starting today, Redbridge is available in restaurants and stores carrying organic products.

Sorghum is the primary ingredient in the beer from the makers of the nation's top-selling full-calorie and light beers, Budweiser and Bud Light. Sorghum is a safe grain for those with wheat allergies. Anheuser-Busch is also marketing the beer as an alternative for those who choose wheat-free or gluten-free diets.

The report also finds that primary care physicians vary from recommended guidelines to prescribe GlaxoSmithKline's Advair as first-line therapy in cases where it is recommended to start with an inhaled corticosteroid.

BOSTON - Traveling to school should become a healthier experience for Massachusetts children after state officials make good on their pledge to reduce school bus exhaust emissions by 90 percent over the next three years. 

Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Ed Coletta said Monday that the state would spend $22.5 million over the next three years to install exhaust filters on all school buses and regional transit authority buses throughout Massachusetts. Roughly 8,000 school buses and about 600 regional transit buses will be retrofitted.

“It’s clearly going to be very beneficial,” Coletta said about reducing the amount of particulate-filled soot spewed by the buses’ diesel engines.

“Children tend to breathe more deeply than adults. They’re clearly at a very tender age where the emissions could impact them. This is an important piece to make sure they’re protected,” he said.

The report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that Maryland is tied with Oklahoma for the third-highest level of childhood asthma in the nation, among the 37 states that had information available.

About 11 percent of the state’s children had asthma in 2005, says “The State of Childhood Asthma” report.

Children with asthma miss school, are sent to the hospital and can die from struggling to breathe, states the report, which was released last week.

MedImmune has licensed an potential asthma treatment from a subsidiary of a Japanese company.

The Gaithersburg company will pay BioWa, a New Jersey subsidiary of Japan's Kyowa Hakko Kogyo, upfront, milestone and royalty payments for the rights to market the drug in all countries other than Japan and a few other Asian nations. BioWa will keep those rights.

MedImmune did not disclose the size of the payments it will make.

The drug, a monoclonal antibody under development, is in the first phase of clinical trials for asthma. It also might be used for other inflammatory diseases, company officials say.

Seasons greetings. And gesundheit.

Christmas greenery, holiday flowers and yuletide fires can inflame allergies, causing itchy eyes, runny noses and skin rashes, experts warn. No wonder Rudolph's nose was red.

Most holiday allergies are minor, but for anyone with asthma and other lung conditions, they can cause serious breathing problems, says allergist James Seltzer, chair of the Indoor Allergy Committee of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

BASEL (AFX) - Novartis (nyse: NVS) AG and joint venture partner SkyePharma PLC (nasdaq: SKYE) have received market approval for their asthma spray Foradil Certihaler from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), following modifications to the product.

The product was recalled in Germany and Switzerland early this year on concern the inhaler was delivering variable doses of the drug.

SkyePharma has since been modifying the device and resubmitted it with the US regulator.

"The quality of care provided to patients with obstructive lung diseases is not as good as it should be or needs to be," said Dr. Richard Mularski, with Kaiser's Portland-based Center for Health Research.

Mularski is lead author of the study, which was published in the December issue of the journal Chest. The RAND Corp. study is part of the largest examination of the quality of American health care ever undertaken.

ISLAMABAD - Preschool children who regularly snore are more likely to have asthma and nocturnal cough than those who do not snore, according to the results of a study published in the August issue of Chest.

Dr. Jennifer K. Peat, of the University of Sydney, Australia, and colleagues measured the prevalence of habitual snoring and other respiratory conditions in preschool children between the ages of two and five years old. Nine hundred seventy-four children were included in the study.

Fifty-four of 516 boys (10.5%) and 48 of 458 girls (10.5%) were snorers on at least four nights per week. No association between snoring and age was observed.

Two of 11 recipients infected with human rhinoviruses developed progressive respiratory and graft dysfunction leading to their deaths, reported Laurent Kaiser, M.D., of the University Hospital of Geneva, and colleagues.

Ragweed allergies makes millions of us miserable with symptoms from red, watery eyes to excessive sneezing. But now a new treatment could soon leave you allergy-free.

It's ragweed season again and oncology nurse Kim Brandt is just one of 36 million Americans allergic to the wild plant.

Kim Brandt, RN, ragweed allergy sufferer: "I would be sneezing, running, watery eyes, itchy nose and nasal congestion."

Sick of the symptoms, Kim joined a study on a new approach called rush immunotherapy.

A recent report by the EU-backed Network of Excellence GA2LEN, Global Allergy and Asthma European Network, highlights new suspected linkages between diet and allergies, particularly in children. Experts suggest that there has been a fundamental shift in European diets over the past twenty to forty years exposing children and adults alike to greater risks of allergies. Such findings by the nutrition network are indicators of the fresh research the network can contribute to this complex field.

According to experts, fully one third of children and approximately half of the European population will be allergic to one thing or another by 2015. It is widely accepted that an unfortunate combination of hereditary and environmental factors contribute to the development of allergies and asthma. However, a sharp increase in the number of cases has lead researchers to believe that something more than genetics is at play. 

An estimated 6.5 million children under age 18 (8.9%) are now diagnosed with the disease. The rate has more than doubled since 1980, according to the report.

At the same time, racial disparities show evidence of worsening. While 8% of white children are estimated to have asthma, 19% of Puerto Rican children and 13% of black children have the disease.

A new study by specialists at the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and elsewhere suggests that only one in five inner-city children with chronic asthma gets enough medicine to control dangerous flare-ups of the disease.

The findings, reported in December's Pediatrics, are disturbing, the researchers say, because preventive therapy failure leads to overreliance on fast-acting "rescue" drugs after an asthma attack strikes and to more complications