Dr. Hopper: Sneezes and wheezes, understanding allergies and asthma

Spring has arrived and is quickly becoming summer, leading to an increase in seasonal allergy and asthma symptoms. Our Ohio River Valley region is one of the leading places in the country for high environmental triggers of allergies. These allergies can cause airway inflammation which in turn can cause asthma.
Allergies occur when your body becomes sensitized to an allergen such as pollen, mold or dust, and this triggers your body to release chemicals called histamines.....

Read more here: thegleaner.com

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Bronchial thermoplasty helps reduce severe asthma attacks and ER visits

ATS 2017, WASHINGTON, DC -- In a new study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference, adult asthma patients treated with bronchial thermoplasty (BT) had fewer severe exacerbations and were able to reduce their ER visits and hospitalizations in the two years following treatment. Approved by the FDA in 2010, BT is a new device-based therapy that uses a series of three radio-frequency treatments to open the airways of adults with severe, persistent asthma whose symptoms are not adequately controlled by inhaled corticosteroids or long-acting beta-agonists.
To date, more than 6,800 patients in 33 countries have been treated with BT.....

Read more here: eurekalert.org

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New medicine shows potential to reduce oral steroid use in severe asthma patients

A trial led by a McMaster University respirology professor shows promising results for a new medicine for severe asthma patients.
The results of the trial demonstrate that patients treated with a potential new medicine and antibody, called benralizumab, were more than four times likely to reduce their usage of oral corticosteroids than those taking a placebo.
“The data is very impressive,” said Dr Parameswaran Nair, the study’s lead investigator, professor of medicine at McMaster University, staff respirologist at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton and an AllerGen NCE Investigator.....

Read more here: europeanpharmaceuticalreview.com