News Bits
Allergy Shots Aren’t Linked to Infections
United States Pharmacopeia has proposed new rules to protect people who receive allergy shots and other treatments against infections. Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, who analyzed 10 years’ worth of data on more than 3,200 patients who received more than 136,000 allergy shots, suggest those new rules aren’t necessary in the case of allergy shots. They found only 86 incidences of infection within five days of receiving a shot, and none were related to the injections.
Blood Test for Asthma?
A new study out of Penn State suggests asthma may one day be diagnosed using a simple blood test. Researchers there identified 30 microRNAs — chemicals in the lungs and blood that, in this case, help to regulate proteins involved in allergic inflammation. These chemicals predicted with greater than 90% accuracy whether people had asthma or not.
When Asthma Occurs Matters
People with both asthma and COPD are known to fare worse than people with COPD alone, but now Danish researchers find the age at which asthma is diagnosed makes a big difference. In their study, COPD patients whose asthma was recognized after age 40 saw an 82% faster decline in lung function than those whose asthma was diagnosed earlier in life. They also died about four years earlier.
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