Rathod N R, Raghuveer I, Chitme H R, Chandra RIndian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences 2009 71(6):615-621Swarnabhasma , an Ayurvedic preparation containing Calotropis gigantea R. Br. (Asclepiadaceae) is extensively used by Ayurvedic physicians for treatment of diabetes mellitus, bronchial asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and nervous disorders. In the present study, we report the effect of chloroform extracts of Calotropis gigantea leaf and flower on free radical scavenging activity, and lipid profile in streptozotozin-induced diabetic rats. The lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase, and catalase were measured in liver homogenate and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, lipid profile were measured in blood serum. Administration ...MedWorm Message: Get the very latest Swine Flu news via the MedWorm Swine Flu RSS news feed - updated hourly from thousands of authoritative health and news sources.

An asthma program specifically tailored to teens could help those in rural areas manage their disease and avoid potentially fatal complications, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. Black males have a death rate from asthma that is six times greater than their white counterparts, and Dr. Dennis Ownby, chief in the MCG School of Medicine Section of Allergy and Immunology, believes asthma rates are as bad in rural areas as they are in inner cities........ (Source: Medicineworld.org: New Article Alert)

If your adolescent child has been exposed to secondhand smoke, he may already have heart disease. That’s the message of a new study published this month. Researchers in Finland followed around 500 children from age 8 to 13. Every year they did a blood test that measured their exposure to tobacco smoke in the previous few days. At age 13, they looked at the arteries of the children using ultrasound, to measure their thickness and health, and measured their levels of Apolipoprotein B, which gives a direct measure of the lipoproteins that can cause heart disease. They found that healthy 13-year-olds with exposure to tobacco smoke between 8 and 13 had thickening of the major arteries and higher levels of Apolipoprotein B. While the effects were worse in the kids with the highest exposure to ...

An asthma program specifically tailored to teens could help those in rural areas manage their disease and avoid potentially fatal complications, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. Black males have a death rate from asthma that is six times greater than their white counterparts, and Dr. Dennis Ownby, chief in the MCG School of Medicine Section of Allergy and Immunology, believes asthma rates are as bad in rural areas as they are in inner cities. "The prevalence is probably the same in rural areas," he said... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

The largest ever study to investigate whether its possible to prevent children with hay fever going on to develop asthma is now underway at UHSM (University Hospital South Manchester). Researchers from the North West Lung Research Centre, along with others from centres across the UK and Europe, are looking to recruit 600 children between the ages of 4 and 11 who have no asthma symptoms but who have hay fever and need medication... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

The largest ever study to investigate whether its possible to prevent children with hay fever going on to develop asthma is now underway at UHSM (University Hospital South Manchester)... (Source: Pediatrics News From Medical News Today)MedWorm Message: Get the very latest Swine Flu news via the MedWorm Swine Flu RSS news feed - updated hourly from thousands of authoritative health and news sources.

(Source: American Journal of Epidemiology)

Scand J Caring Sci; 2010 In their own words: early childhood asthma and parents' experiences of the diagnostic process This paper explores the experiences of parents of asthmatic children in the period leading up to their child receiving a formal medical diagnosis. To what extent did the parents face difficulties in obtaining this diagnosis? How did they describe their encounters with the healthcare professionals? In particular, did parents portray themselves as passive and dominated or active and participating during the prediagnosis phase? In-depth interviews with individuals and participants in a focus group exposed the prediagnosis phase as a distinct and memorable phase of the disease, often recalled as a period of frustration and uncertainty. Results show that instead of accepting th...

The timecourse and magnitude of changes observed in sputum eosinophil counts and exhaled nitric oxide differ significantly after exposure to occupational agents in asthmatics, research shows. (Source: MedWire News - Respiratory)

High nitric oxide levels in exhalations predict asthma severity and response to treatment in children, a new study shows. Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)

Dietary avoidance during pregnancy can reduce peanut and egg sensitization and asthma symptoms in offspring. Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)MedWorm Message: Get the very latest Swine Flu news via the MedWorm Swine Flu RSS news feed - updated hourly from thousands of authoritative health and news sources.

A genomewide association study shows that the TSLP gene plays a role in asthma, atopic dermatitis, and extensive food allergies. Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)

A hiccup, also known as hiccough, synchronous diaphragmatic flutter (SDF), or singultus is a common condition that probably affects every human, in which there is an involuntary esophageal contraction of the diaphragm that recurs several times per minute. The diaphragm is the muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen - it is underneath the ribcage - and has a key function in breathing... (Source: Asthma / Respiratory News From Medical News Today)

Worst Cities for People With Asthma (Source: eMedicineHealth.com)

Title: Worst Cities for People With AsthmaCategory: Health NewsCreated: 3/8/2010 12:01:00 PMLast Editorial Review: 3/8/2010 12:01:32 PM (Source: MedicineNet Asthma General)

(Medical College of Georgia) An asthma program specifically tailored to teens could help those in rural areas manage their disease and avoid potentially fatal complications, Medical College of Georgia researchers say. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)MedWorm Message: Get the very latest Swine Flu news via the MedWorm Swine Flu RSS news feed - updated hourly from thousands of authoritative health and news sources.

Exposure to high plasma folate levels in utero increases the risk for asthma, show researchers who found that children born to mothers with high plasma folate levels during pregnancy had an increased risk for asthma. (Source: MedWire News - Ob/Gyn)

Background: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airway that is characterized by a Th2-type of immune response with increasing evidence for involvement of Th17 cells. The role of IL-6 in promoting effector T cell subsets suggest that IL-6 may play a functional role in asthma. Classically IL-6 has been viewed as an inflammatory marker, along with TNFalpha and IL-1beta, rather than as regulatory cytokine.ObjectiveTo investigate the potential relationship between IL-6 and other proinflammatory cytokines, Th2/Th17 cytokines and lung function in allergic asthma, and thus evaluate the potential role of IL-6 in this disease. Methods: Cytokine levels in induced sputum and lung function were measured in 16 healthy control and 18 mild-moderate allergic asthmatic subjects. Results: The lev...

Non-eosinophilic and eosinophilic asthma are associated with different gene expression profiles, research shows. (Source: MedWire News - Respiratory)

Authors: Clare M Lloyd & Sejal Saglani Thinking about how asthma and allergic diseases arise is undergoing several shifts. In 'Bedside to Bench', Clare M. Lloyd and Sejal Saglani examine how recent human studies are putting the focus on the epithelium as a major contributor to asthma. The findings shift the emphasis away from the T helper type 2 immune response, and call into question the utility of current animal models of the disease. Although asthma and other allergic disorders are known to have origins in infancy, some researchers are looking even earlier, to effects in utero and before conception. In 'Bench to Bedside', Catherine Hawrylowicz and Kimuli Ryanna highlight animal studies that outline some of the effects of the maternal environment, and they examine the potential impli...