What is Digg?46 Comments
- jhuebel, on 10/12/2007, -5/+26Asthma is the result of the residual destructive force of a roundhouse kick to the face by Chuck Norris.
- lalindsey, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12zopmaz: no baby can focus or control their eye movements for the first few weeks.
- DannyPage, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7@Hope this leads to a cure!
Me too =)
Running Cross Country sucked with Asthma... >_< Still run casually on my own with meds, but I would love a cure. - the1casey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Since I'm a respiratory therapist and also run a cardiopulmonary rehab center, it looks like I'll be modifying some of the drugs we use soon. This is great news, because up until now, the medical world has been completely lost as to what causes asthma. We always knew that intrinsic and extrinsic asthma caused bonchoconstriction, and we knew that beta 2 adrenergic agents and anticholinergics could reverse the constriction. But nobody knew what was causing the asthma per se.
This is an important breakthrough in the world for those who suffer from chronic cardiopulmonary diseases. - anthony1124, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6i wasn't born with asthma, but i got asthma when i was around 3 or 4... at least that's what the doctor told me, so this is interesting.
thanks.
+digg - Haplo, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7"am i the only one that thought they already new?"
Yes, already new, so news :-D - RockLobstah, on 10/12/2007, -1/+513ill, it seems they thought they knew, but were actually wrong.
Hope this leads to a cure! - Fezzik, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Do you have any proof regarding your statement?
Ask someone who has asthma if it's all in their head. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"Every day, in this country, 30,000 people suffer an asthma attack, and 14 people die from the disease."
That's a lot of people this could potentially benifit, myself included. It's nice to wake up and read that they are making progress towards something that has annoyed me for most my life... dugg. - Aesculapius, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3While anxiety can worsen an attack (anxiety -> adrenaline release -> increased metabolism -> increase O2 demand ->increased respiratory rate -> increased work of breathing) this is a completely legitimate disease and I have several asthma patients whose problems are anything but psychosomatic.
- dohdig, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I have asthma, but the details in this study ...
"They checked the lung cells of 25 patients, 14 of whom were nonsmokers with moderate to severe asthma."
SMOKERS w/Asthma ....... :0
I know smoking is cool....but is smoking, puff your inhaler (and repeat)....now that's gotta look cool!!! - Francis_Burdett, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4
If however this leads to a "cure" in the medium term not only will asthma sufferers benefit but the health system as a whole will greatly benefit from the reduction in emergency room visits. - eclectek, on 10/12/2007, -5/+7Nerds with asthma?
Who would have thought? - Francis_Burdett, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4"Umetsu and his colleagues expect that their astonishing results will lead to more effective treatments for a condition that accounts for one out of every four emergency room visits in the United States.", although the article makes clear that much further research is necessary before drugs to combat asthma result from this discovery.
If however this leads to a cure in the medium term not only will asthma sufferers benefit but the health system as a whole will greatly benefit from the reduction in emergency room visits. - Aesculapius, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Interestingly enough, asthma isn't traditionally viewed as an autoimmune disease. It is look at as a multifactorial disease that includes environmental exposure, inflammation and bronchoconstriction...where the immune system played a part, but was not the sole cause.
This article actually raises the issue of autoimmunity more strongly than it has in the past. - Z_Man, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2i agree.
- Bishoco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2This is fantastic. My mom has severe asthma. I hope this leads to better treatments.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4Zopmaz: Ah, yes. Herb Crusted Baked Salmon. It's the pearl cream of India.
- josephine, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2this is great!!! dugg.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You might be thinking of cystic fibrosis where the defect is caused by a mutation in an ion pump (chloride i think) that results in a loss of the ability of certain cells (in the lings mostly) to pass Cl ions across membranes. Not sure though.
- the1casey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You could not be more wrong. If you worked even one day in an ED (ER) you wouldn't say that asthma sufferers are hypochondriacs. I ask you to produce documentation on your claims.
- fireflash, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Well *****, it's all in my head?! awesome! [/sarcasm]
elnerdo, I would kill you where you stand, if I could breath.
/had asthma since I was 7.
//Not in my head.
///stop feeding the trolls. - redjesus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2yep i have to go to the ER and get shots to control my asthma when inhalers aren't enough because it's all in my head
- jonom, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Marijuana works for easing asthma.
- Aesculapius, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1This will definitely help treat this disease. After all, treatment begins with understanding of the process that causes disease.
Couple problems I see: First, like any immune modulated disease (rheumatoid arthritis, dermatomyositis, etc), the part that is overactive still has a vital role. You need to be careful how much you supress it because it can lead to other problems. These "killer" type cells are also involved in our bodies natural defense against cancer as well as infection. Second problem is just the difficulty at targeting that particular cell type in therapy.
They will probably attack these problems by finding a drug that can be inhaled, thus working in the lungs, but not absorbed into the blood stream affecting immunity everywhere else in the body.
Also, this most likely does not mean a cure. Like other autoimmune diseases, we know what is going wrong, we just don't know why or if we do know why, we don't know how to fix it. But this info does raise the strong possibility of finding a very effective treatment. - Rasz, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Not really sure about this, saw a TV show here in Australia on a local research group (cant remember which university) and they seemed to think it was because we are missing a protein which relations to cell growth in the lungs etc. We have the gene to produce this protein yet it isn't produced. If the body can be made to start producing this protein or given it from other sources then asthma would cease to exist. Dunno whether this is 100% or whether the above story or the TV show I saw are correct, but i thought either would get bigger media coverage if they were true?
- diggingitup, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0A wonderful friend of mine died on Thursday, and is buried on Monday. cause of death: asthma attack
please find a cure. thank you. - tony23, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1What I find especially interesting is the view of asthma as an autoimmune problem. My wife has asthma, and she also has lupus - I can't help but wonder if there may be a connection, after reading this.
- fkuall, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1i had asthma for many years as a child, then i was treated by an acupuncturist and now i have no asthma
- Darkness123, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I remember watching something on "Worms in the stomach" anyway, it was said that they help with allergica i wonder if they help with asthma as well ?
I got few friends who have asthma I am guessing this news will make them happy. - allonline, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Another cause of asthma may be the chemicals and detergents used in modern living.
The Simplest Asthma Solution
During the Democratic convention the Reverend Al Sharpton quoted a shocking statistic: One third of the children in Harlem suffer from asthma. This shouldn't be completely surprising since asthma cases have been consistently increasing over the years, especially in the cities, escalating recently during the rollback of some key environmental laws, but it is a trend we must turn back.
http://www.onyourpc.com/health/alternative/2.php
While parents have only limited control over the environment where they raise their children, there is a personal environmental decision they can make that may dramatically reduce the symptoms their children experience. It all comes down to detergent, and not just any detergent. It is the detergent that they use to wash their children's clothes and sheets. The biggest selling detergents in the United States contain large amounts of irritating phosphates, which are not only a major irritant to the skin and respiratory system, but a source of serious pollution, and a component in global warming. - burnt1ce85, on 10/12/2007, -5/+5Im happy to hear!
- artarc, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Your varied comments prompts me to tell you of the recent findings at the Manchester University UK--- Quote
“Researchers at the North West Lung Centre, run by The University of Manchester and based at Wythenshawe Hospital, have discovered that vacuum cleaners with ‘high-efficiency particulate air’ or HEPA filters are no more effective than standard models at reducing exposure to dust-mites.”
I believe the exhaust air blowing from vacuum cleaners is the main cause for the distribution of allergens viruses and bacteria when using the Vacuum Cleaner
For this reason I designed a cleaner that does not blow out air, it returns it back into the system to do work this system is suitable for asthmatics.
An Air Recycling Cleaner prototype has recently completed tests commissioned by DEFRA and the DTI at Intertek for the Market Transformation Program. UK
The results of the tests have confirmed that in its present form it can out-perform vacuum cleaners that are using four times as much power.
If it replaced the vacuum cleaner in Britain alone it would save about one Terawatt of electricity every year, the output of about 600 Wind Generators. And worth about Ninety Million Pounds.
I have placed a short video of the Air Recycling Cleaner and other information on to a web site at -------------------(
www.edginton.info/arc
)---------------------
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says 100 to 150 million people around the world are asthmatic and the number is growing by 50% every decade. It causes 180,000 deaths a year”.
------------------
It was thought that HEPPA filters could help but this is now in dispute. It is probable that the air blowing from vacuum cleaners is the main cause for the distribution of allergens viruses and bacteria when using the Vacuum Cleaner
-------------------------
All that is now required is a manufacturer for this machine,
Should you require more information please contact me at -------------------
ben@edginton.info
Ben - dongiaconia, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Wow, I guess there aren't any Norm McDonald fans here to get the Frank Stallone joke....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Stallone - ljdarten, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Ack! I screwed up. meant to say asthma sufferers go to the ER 15 times more often than non-asthma sufferers. Which sounds odd when you consider that there are a LOT of very minor cases of asthma, such as mine. I guess a lot of my thoughts above depend on how these numbers were taken though. such as whether they included minor cases in that count.
All I really started off saying is that you all overreacted to elnerdo. Although I do think his last comment seemed out of line, I think he was referring to people who think they have asthma not asthma sufferers. Another way to look at it is that hypochondriacs tend to flock to asthma (unconsciously generally) as it is hard to prove or disprove when you are not having an attack. I could be wrong on that note though. just seems that way to me. - gwe5, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Interesting article on herbal cigarettes for treatment for asthma. Doesn't mention the fact that the herb, jimson weed, is a hallucinogen. I vaguely remember these as a child.
http://www.drugstoremuseum.com/sections/level_info2.php?level_id=79&level=2 - ljdarten, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0oops. wrong button. sorry.
- ljdarten, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0He didn't say ALL people, he said A LOT. Which might be a little extreme though, maybe some would be more accurate. I think what really got under peoples skin though is the last statement.
from story: "17 million-20 million people in the United States suffer from asthma"
also from story "... condition that accounts for one out of every four emergency room visits in the United States"
according to cia.gov, population of US: 295,734,134
17-20 million people with asthma versus around 300 million people in the US seems out of place with one out of every four ER visits. That's a lot of visits for an average. For this to fit wouldn't that mean that, on average, people with asthma go to the ER (specifically for their asthma) 15 times a year? I'm not saying that there aren't people that really need to do this or much more. I know that there are. But the numbers seem to suggest, to me anyways, that there are a lot more people being treated for it then people who have it. On top of that a lot of asthma cases are extremely small. I have been diagnosed with asthma myself, but I rarely ever need to use an inhaler (knock on wood). If cases like mine are included in the "people with asthma" numbers then the gap seems even stranger.
Again, I'm not suggesting that asthma is a psychosomatic condition (and neither did elnerdo, he just said some are) I am just saying that there are cases out there that are not asthma but appear to be. Psychosomatic cases are one, but there are probably a lot of others as well, and I think these cases add to the ER visits. If nothing else, if a cure or near cure comes out of this then actual asthma sufferers will be more easily treated and it will become more apparent that some sufferers have something else. - loooek, on 10/12/2007, -1/+0I hope some neat treatment comes out of this research, but you've been able to effectively cure asthma for ages using the buteyko technique - http://www.buteyko.info/ . Lots of other benefits too. But yeah, if they can make some fancy pill that 'cures' asthma, more power to them.
- Tperiod, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0Another new and exciting story about asthma is the chaotic behavior of the airways during an asthma attack:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v434/n7034/abs/nature03490.html
with a computer simulation of an asthma attack
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v434/n7034/extref/nature03490-s6.mpg - MrStylz, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1After smoking for so long (looong), a cigarrette actually will act as an inhaler, letting you breathe more freely.
- jeolmeun, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1Is that a mad eye brow or a worried one?
- dongiaconia, on 10/12/2007, -13/+6Darn, and for half a second I thought the answer was going to be, that's right, you guessed it: Frank Stallone.
- l3ill, on 10/12/2007, -11/+4am i the only one that thought they already new?
- elnerdo, on 10/12/2007, -9/+1A lot of asthma cases are purely psychosomatic, though. Which means that even a placebo is enough to 'cure' it. temporarily, at least. It's been shown that many people with asthma are also hypocondraics.
- Zopmaz, on 10/12/2007, -28/+6I got asmah when I was born because I was born like WAY premature... you could see through my skin and I couldn't control my eyeballs BUT I hope they find a cure that isn't swallowing fish coated with herbs in india or someplace...
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