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Healthcare Headlines |
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Respiratory / Asthma News From Medical News Today
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Oral Gefitinib As Effective As Injected Docetaxel For Survival Of Patients With Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (Interest Study)
Gefitnib is as effective a second-line treatment as docetaxel for patients with non-small cell* lung cancer. The INTEREST study, published in an Article in this week's edition of The Lancet, thus establishes gefitinib as a valid treatment option for people with this condition. The study was written by Dr Edward Kim, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, USA and colleagues.
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Long-Term Antibiotics Reduce COPD Exacerbations, Raise Questions
Long-term use of a macrolide antibiotic may reduce the frequency of exacerbations in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) by as much as 35 percent, according to a London-based study. "Our results show a significant effect of low-dose macrolide therapy, reducing exacerbation frequency and severity with moderate to severe COPD," wrote lead author of the paper, Terence A. R. Seemungal, Ph.D., and Jadwiga Wedzicha, M.D.
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Fall Babies Born To Wheeze? New Evidence Links Birth Season To Asthma Development
It is said that timing is everything, and that certainly appears to be true for autumn infants. Children who are born four months before the height of cold and flu season have a greater risk of developing childhood asthma than children born at any other time of year, according to new research.
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Fears Over Asthma Misdiagnosis Lead To British Lung Foundation Calls For Mass Retesting
The British Lung Foundation is calling for everyone over 35 with Asthma or the progressive illness Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) to be retested following evidence of confusion over diagnosis and treatment of the two respiratory diseases. A survey of 776 GPs from all over the UK carried out for the charity by Doctors.net.uk shows that most have difficulty differentiating between Asthma or COPD, causing misdiagnosis and distress amongst patients.
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Older People Should Have The Flu Jab This Winter, Warn Experts - British Medical Journal
Despite recent doubts about its effectiveness, the influenza vaccine does give valuable protection against illness, hospital admission and death caused by influenza, and people over 65 should have the flu jab this winter, say experts on bmj.com today. Several prominent media articles have suggested that the flu vaccination programme for the over 65s is not worthwhile.
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Air Pollution Forecasting Offered To Those With Breathing Problems, European Union
World COPD Day this year provides the occasion for the launch of a website for European citizens to check national and local air quality and to learn the steps they can take to minimise any adverse effects.(1) Launched jointly by European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations (EFA) and Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), the website "Know Your Air for Health" (www.knowyourairforhealth.
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Despite Warm Temperatures, Arizona Confirms First Flu Case Of The Season
Although Valley temperatures continue to loom into the mid 80's this week, the flu is right on schedule. Today, the Arizona Department of Health Services confirms the state's first case of influenza, officially kicking off the 2008-2009 flu season. The patient is an infant from Maricopa County who is now recovering at home. "We usually expect to see our first case by Thanksgiving, so this comes as no surprise," said Will Humble, ADHS Deputy Director.
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Spike In Hospital Visits For Respiratory Illnesses During Southern California Wildfires
Raging wildfires that engulfed Southern California earlier this decade not only destroyed neighborhoods laying in their path, they also caused significant health problems for many who lived outside the fires' reach. An analysis of hospital and emergency department admissions directly before, during and after the 2003 Southern California wildfires shows a dramatic increase in treatment for those with asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory disorders.
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Gates Foundation Awards Grant For Development Of A Database To Accelerate Discovery Of New Therapies Against Tuberculosis
Collaborative Drug Discovery, Inc. (CDD) today announced that it has received a grant for $1,896,923 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a collaborative database that will enable scientists to archive, mine, and selectively collaborate around their research data to discover new cures for tuberculosis (TB). The TB bacillus infects approximately one third of the world's population and the disease kills over 1.5 million people every year.
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Mothers See Flu As Serious Health Threat, But Often Don't Get Their Families Vaccinated
While 78 percent of mothers in the United States consider influenza a severe and potentially life-threatening disease that can strike anyone, only half say it is likely their families will get vaccinated this season, according to a new survey from the American Lung Association.
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