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A couple of fishy meals a week may keep the asthma away

Ben Coxworth November 5, 2018

Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to reduce inflammation, and asthma involves an inflammation of the airways. Would eating omega-3-rich fish therefore help reduce the severity of asthma? A new study indicates that the answer is likely Yes.

Eating plenty of fatty fish could help minimize asthma symptoms

Medical

Dementia-related brain damage reversed in mice using 20-year-old asthma drug

Rich Haridy June 12, 2018

A fascinating new study from researchers at Temple University has successfully reversed cognitive impairments in mice with dementia. The research utilized a 20-year-old asthma drug to treat the animals and the hope is to fast track clinical trials to verify the results in human subjects.

Promising research has reversed dementia-related brain damage in mice using an old asthma drug

Medical

Scientists diagnose asthma via simple nose swab

Ben Coxworth June 12, 2018

Mild to moderate asthma can be difficult to diagnose, as its symptoms change over time and are often affected by other respiratory conditions. A new test, however, is able to definitively determine whether or not a patient has asthma – via just a swabbing of the nose.

The actual "nasal brushing" takes just a few seconds to perform

Health & Wellbeing

Wireless stethoscope made for monitoring asthma at home

Ben Coxworth February 12, 2018

If your child has a respiratory illness such as asthma, then visits to the doctor may be fairly frequent. A team of scientists from Poland's Adam Mickiewicz University are attempting to make them a little less so, though, with a use-at-home wireless stethoscope known as StethoMe.

StethoMe is presently a functioning production prototype

Health & Wellbeing

New asthma treatment may help when inhalers don't

Ben Coxworth February 8, 2018

There may be new hope for people who suffer from asthma or other respiratory disorders. Scientists from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and Shanghai University have developed a drug that they claim is a more effective treatment than the currently-used bronchodilator inhalers.

Inhalers don't work for all asthma sufferers, and can cause unwanted side effects

Medical

Targeting underlying reason airways close could let asthmatics breathe easier

Rebekah Andrews February 5, 2018

Scientists understand that too much of a protein called mucin causes the lungs’ airways to close, triggering an asthma attack. Until now, the mechanism behind it was unknown. Researchers from Houston Methodist Research Institute believe the answer lies in how two molecules communicate.

A discovery by researchers at Houston Methodist Research Institute could lead to better drugs to treat ...

Health & Wellbeing

Antibody breakthrough brings universal allergy treatment one step closer

Rich Haridy January 28, 2018

Researchers have revealed the mechanism behind an antibody that can potentially inactivate the body's allergic processes. The breakthrough brings researchers one step closer to developing a universal treatment that can prevent the fundamental immune response at the heart of all allergic reactions.

Edward Spillner from Aarhus University and a team of European researchers have discovered a new approach ...

Medical

The humble inhaler goes digital

Ben Coxworth November 6, 2017

North Carolina-based Pneuma Respiratory has developed what it states is the world's first fully-digital soft mist inhaler. Among other things, it's claimed to deliver medication more reliably.

The digital inhaler automatically dispenses medication, and allows dosages to be tracked on a smartphone

Medical

Over 100 genetic risk factors for asthma, hay fever and eczema identified

Rich Haridy October 30, 2017

An international team, made up of scientists from several different universities, has successfully identified over 100 genetic risk factors that increase a person’s chances of developing three common allergic conditions: asthma, hay fever and eczema.

A full genome study has been completed identifying common genetic risk factors for asthma, hay fever ...

Medical

Gene therapy could wipe immune memory and "turn off" severe allergies

Rich Haridy June 4, 2017

A team of researchers at the University of Queensland has developed a new process that has successfully silenced a severe allergic response in mice, using blood stem cells engineered with a gene that can target specific immune cells.

The team hopes to develop a single, injected, gene therapy treatment that could eliminate many severe ...