News Bits
New Treatment for Food Allergies in Development Now
Researchers from Johns Hopkins are working on a new form of immunotherapy they believe may eventually help children with severe food allergies. Instead of putting tiny amounts of the food on the skin to desensitize the individual, they’re developing a therapy whereby the food would be ingested in even smaller amounts. The therapy has shown some promise in a study of 30 children with cow’s milk allergies.
Obesity Raises Asthma Risk
Obesity raises the risk that a child will have asthma, but the effect depends somewhat on race and ethnicity. In the Kaiser Permanente study, Hispanic children who were obese were the most likely to also have asthma. The weakest link between obesity and asthma was seen in black children.
Exercise Improves Asthmatics’ Quality of Life
A new study out of the University of Virginia suggests people with asthma can benefit from regular exercise. In their study, 78% of adults who exercised three times a week reported improvements in asthma quality of life vs. just 39.5% of those who received usual care.
Shingles Risk Increased in Children with Asthma
Shingles is often considered a problem for older people, but children can develop the condition as well. A new study from researchers at the Mayo Clinic finds kids with asthma are 2.2 times more likely to come down with the painful skin rash than kids without asthma.
Potentially Harmful Chemicals Found in Consumer Products
Many household products contain chemicals that can worsen asthma, report researchers from the Silent Spring Institute. They found offending chemicals in all 42 conventional products they tested, along with 32 out of 43 alternative products touted as being “safer.”
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