ASC Portal – Healht News

A recent report discusses a newly developed immunotherapy for allergies that avoids the need for long-term allergen injections to desensitize the immune system to the allergy-producing substances. Researchers at Genoa University, Italy, say tests of the new immunotherapy tablets, which are placed under the tongue for a short period of time and then swallowed, showed that participants randomized to receive the tablet showed significantly lower levels of allergy symptoms than those who received placebos following treatment for 12 and 24 months. The report is in The Lancet.

A recent study suggests that as many as one-third of pediatric cases of the chronic skin disorder atopic dermatitis may be caused by food allergies. Researchers at the University of Geneva in Switzerland studied the prevalence of food allergies in 63 patients with atopic dermatitis to collect data; participants were between the ages of three months and 19 years. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent report from researchers at Johns Hopkins University concludes that a significant proportion of healthcare workers may be allergic to latex, the rubber used in surgical gloves. Researchers tested 168 anesthesiologists for allergic reactions to latex to collect data and found that about 2.5% had overt reactions, such as skin rash or sneezing, to latex, and that another 10% showed evidence of antibody recognition of latex, indicating an increased risk for developing overt latex allergies. The findings were presented at a recent meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

A recent report suggests that a significant percentage of young children who are allergic to peanuts grow out of the allergy, in contrast to the persistent allergy in older children. Researchers at London’s Institute of Child Health studied 15 young children with resolved peanut allergy and 15 with persistent allergy to collect data and found that 18% of the younger children challenged with peanuts had negative results (no allergic reaction). Authors note that children with no other food allergies at the time of the study had a better chance of negative challenge results. The report is in the British Medical Journal.

A new report concludes that babies who consume cows’ milk formula in the first few days of life are not at increased long-term risk of allergies. Researchers at the University of Amsterdam followed the health of more than 1,500 healthy newborns to collect data; half of the children were fed cows’ milk formula for the first three days of life, while the other half were fed a formula containing no cows’ milk. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent report suggests that some allergies and rheumatoid arthritis may be seen as counterbalancing conditions (persons with one of the conditions are less likely to suffer from the other condition than persons in the general population). Researchers at the University Hospital Utrecht, the Netherlands, studied more than 700 adults, about half of whom suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, to collect data. Read the rest of this entry »

Reports say the U.S. District Court in Washington, DC, has handed down a ruling overturning the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s policy prohibiting companies from distributing information to physicians on “off-label” use of drugs or devices. Off-label use is use of a drug or device for purposes other than those for which it has been approved by the FDA. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent study concludes that not all children who are born with an intolerance to cow’s milk outgrow the intolerance and that they are at increased risk of other conditions. Researchers at the University of Palermo, Italy, reviewed the records of 38 children to collect data; 12 of those studied were intolerant of cow’s milk until at least age four, while the intolerance disappeared in the others by age two. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent study sought to examine what, if any, increased risk of allergic conditions could be linked to immunization against pertussis (“whooping cough”) during childhood. Researchers at the University Hospital in Linkoping, Sweden, studied 669 children treated with one of three choices: 1) acellular pertussis vaccines, 2) whole-cell pertussis vaccines, or 3) vaccines against diphtheria and tetanus with no pertussis component included. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent survey shows that the majority of physicians in managed care programs feel that the managed care has had detrimental effects on the quality of medical care and on the physician-patient relationship. Researchers at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, surveyed more than 500 doctors to collect data and found that more than half said the quality of healthcare is adversely affected by limitations in location of diagnostic tests, length of hospital stay, and choice of specialists, and that about two-thirds of respondents said managed care has undermined the physician-patient relationship. Read the rest of this entry »