Allergies & Asthma

PHOENIX — Experts in lung diseases debated at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology here whether at-home spirometry tests and devices, which are now available from multiple companies, should be elevated to prime-time use. The tests are good enough to allow patients to monitor their lung function at home

A drug-eluting contact lens containing an antihistamine for people with allergic eye itch won approval from the FDA, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care announced. The daily disposable etafilcon A drug-eluting contact lens with ketotifen (Acuvue Theravision with ketotifen) is the world’s first drug-eluting contact lens, the company said. It recently was approved in Japan and

PHOENIX — Treatment with the interleukin-5 (IL-5) antagonist mepolizumab (Nucala) reduced the need to take oral corticosteroids by 75% in patients who had depended on the steroids to control symptoms of severe asthma, a researcher reported here. Patients on a median 10 mg maintenance dose of oral corticosteroids at baseline reduced their intake to 2.5

Seasons change… Trees and flowers start budding to form colorful landscapes. Green-leafed trees change into a rainbow of fall colors. Those fall colors turn into a winter wonderland. Sounds pretty, right? What isn’t pretty — the misery that seasonal allergies often bring. Even though allergies cause problems year round, a number of environmental allergens “peak”

PHOENIX — In some patients with eosinophilic asthma, dupilumab (Dupixent) offered the highest chance of better lung function, although the agent also carried the highest odds of serious adverse events (AEs), a researcher reported. In an indirect treatment comparison of dupilumab, mepolizumab (Nucala), and benralizumab (Fasenra), patients with eosinophil counts ≥300 cells/μL treated with dupilumab

PHOENIX — Biologic medications sent severe asthma into remission in a substantial proportion of patients, according to a study presented here at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. About 35% of 908 patients who took biologic treatments for at least 12 months were able to achieve remission status, reported

PHOENIX — Nearly three-fifths of patients with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) achieved remission after treatment with dupilumab (Dupixent), researchers reported. In a 6-month study, 58.8% of adults and adolescents treated with dupilumab achieved histological remission compared to 6.3% in the placebo group (P<0.0001), according to Marc Rothenberg, MD, PhD, of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, in a pre-recorded

Black and Latinx patients who used an inhaled glucocorticoid as needed along with usual care had improved asthma outcomes, according to results from the PREPARE trial. In the study of patients with moderate-to-severe asthma, and compared to a control group that continued usual care only, the intervention group experienced a 15% decrease in risk of

Obesity may put women at a higher risk for airway obstructive diseases, a Korean population-based cohort study suggested. In an adjusted model, premenopausal women with severe obesity had a 67% higher risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; HR 1.67, 95% CI 1.54-1.81), while postmenopausal women had a 57% elevated risk (HR 1.57, 95% CI

[embedded content] When considering which specialty to pursue, many premeds place a heavy emphasis on annual salary. What they often fail to consider, though, is the time that is required to make the big bucks. We took the average annual salary for each specialty and divided it by the number of hours worked per week

Allergies are the 6th leading cause of chronic illness in the U.S. A majority of people avoid their allergens, manage their symptoms with temporary relief from over-the-counter (OTC) allergy medications, or just continue to suffer. Did you know there’s a personalized treatment to modify allergies and allergy-related chronic conditions beyond temporary relief? In this blog,

Patients who switched from a pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDIs) to a dry powder inhaler (DPI) halved their carbon footprints while still maintaining good asthma control, a post-hoc analysis of the Salford Lung Study in Asthma showed. Including both maintenance and rescue asthma treatment, the annual per-patient carbon footprint equivalent (CO2e) dropped from a least

Traveling to your dream vacation destination or on a business trip should bring relaxation, good memories or productivity – not allergy flare ups. In a recent blog, we covered what to know about traveling with food allergies. Now, we’ll focus on traveling tips to stay safe from non-food allergens. Up to 40% of the population

TTHealthWatch is a weekly podcast from Texas Tech. In it, Elizabeth Tracey, director of electronic media for Johns Hopkins Medicine, and Rick Lange, MD, president of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso, look at the top medical stories of the week. This week’s topics include treating young children for peanut allergy,

Workplace exposure to pesticides was linked to a higher risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a large U.K. study found. Risk of COPD increased among adults ages 40-74 ever exposed to pesticides on the job (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.13, 95% CI 1.01-1.28), reported Sara De Matteis, MD, PhD, MPH, of Imperial College London, and

Children under 4 years of age with peanut allergies had significantly higher desensitization and remission rates with oral immunotherapy versus placebo, and younger age appeared to predict better outcomes, the randomized IMPACT study showed. Among 146 children ages 1 to 3 years, 71% of those assigned to peanut flour oral immunotherapy became desensitized to a

The average person takes between 17,280 and 23,040 breaths per day — 90% of those are typically taken indoors.1 Can you imagine how many allergens and other particles you inhale indoors? Indoor air quality became an eye-opener when the COVID-19 pandemic began. But, think about all the non-viral allergens and particles in the air that

Disparities in air pollution exposure between racial and ethnic groups are getting worse, according to a new study. From 2000 to 2016, the average concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in the U.S. decreased by 40%, from 12.6 µg/m-3 to 7.5 µg/m-3, according to Abdulrahman Jbaily, PhD, of Harvard T. H. Chan School of

Traveling can bring excitement, anxiety, and stress, whether you’re driving a short distance for the day or flying across the country for an extended business trip or vacation. Add food allergies to the mix and traveling can be overwhelming. Researching dining and flight options, communicating your allergies with others, remembering to pack important allergy-friendly items,

Traffic-related air pollution was responsible for nearly 2 million new asthma cases in children across the globe in 2019, according to a new study. Of the 1.85 million new pediatric asthma cases that were attributed to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), two-thirds occurred in urban areas, reported Susan Anenberg, PhD, of George Washington University in Washington, D.C.,

When you hear “environmental allergies,” trees, grasses, and weeds might be the first allergens that come to mind. Just when you breathe a sigh of relief from waning outdoor allergens, prepare for sneaky indoor environmental allergens. Mold and dust mites trigger allergies throughout the year. But, as winter rolls around and you begin spending more

The FDA approved the only biologic for severe asthma without any phenotype or biomarker limitations, manufacturers AstraZeneca and Amgen announced Friday. The first-in-class biologic tezepelumab-ekko (Tezspire) is indicated as an add-on maintenance treatment for patients ages 12 and older with severe asthma. It is not intended for acute bronchospasm or status asthmaticus. As a first-in-class

One in 10 people in the U.S. have atopic dermatitis, or eczema. The miserable symptoms — dry, itchy, sore skin — can take a toll on everyday activities, concentration, and sleep. Products and environmental factors you’re exposed to on a daily basis could trigger your eczema flare ups. Underlying allergy may even be at the

Interventions to de-escalate use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are necessary and beneficial, researchers said during the federal posters session at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear virtual meeting. The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidelines recommend long-acting beta2-agonists (LABA) and long-acting muscarinic

Immune-mediated diseases collectively were associated with an increased risk of cancer, with the risks not always isolated to the involved organ, a large cohort study demonstrated. Overall, 48 common autoimmune and other immune-mediated conditions were linked with a modest total cancer risk (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.04-1.12), reported Mingyang Song, MD, ScD, of Harvard T.H.

Children with poorly-controlled asthma were at much greater risk for COVID-19 hospitalization, a retrospective study from Scotland found. Among roughly 750,000 children ages 5 to 17, those with an asthma-related hospitalization in the 2 years before the pandemic — a marker for uncontrolled asthma — had a more than sixfold higher risk of being hospitalized

We’ve all heard about food recalls on the news — “food abc” recalled for undeclared allergens, “food xyz” recalled due to possible Salmonella contamination. As scary as they may sound, food recalls often get brushed to the side if it isn’t a food you eat or buy. Undeclared major food allergen, when a food allergen

NEW ORLEANS — Apparently it’s not necessary to have the protein that a monoclonal antibody is designed to bind for it to achieve a clinical benefit, if a study of patients with chronic urticaria can be taken at face value. At the Cleveland Clinic, the condition was brought under complete control in seven patients after