NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It is known that stress exacerbates the symptoms of asthma in children, but the biological reason for this has been unknown. Now, scientists in Canada have discovered that a stressful home life diminishes the expression of certain proteins on the surface of cells that regulate airway responses and inflammation.
“Collectively, these findings suggest that in children and adolescents with asthma, the quality of home life and family relationships are important determinants of health and well-being and appear to have stronger effects than other life domains, such as academics and peer relationships,” conclude Drs. Gregory E. Miller and Edith Chen, from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
They interviewed 39 children with asthma and 38 healthy children, ages 9 to 18, regarding acute and chronic stress over the preceding 6 months. Blood specimens were obtained to measure levels of the so-called glucocorticoid receptor and beta-2-adrenergic receptor.
In general, children with asthma expressed higher levels of beta-2-adrenergic receptor and glucocorticoid receptor than did healthy children.
However, the researchers found that asthmatic children exposed to chronic stress, such as abrasive family relationships or an unstable home environment, expressed less beta-2 than those not exposed to chronic stress, whereas healthy children expressed more.
Major life events alone did not affect expression of these proteins in either group of children.
But in children with asthma who experienced a major life event in the previous 3 months along with chronic stress, the expression of beta-2-adrenergic receptor decreased 9.5-fold and expression of glucocorticoid receptor decreased 5.5-fold. In healthy children, this pattern was reversed and was weaker.
In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Miller and Chen explain that attenuated expression of both receptors would likely lead to airway inflammation and airway constriction after exposure to allergic triggers. It could also diminish patients’ sensitivity to asthma medications, they suggest.
SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 2006.

Dust in school classrooms is to be analysed in a nationwide study to fight asthma and other allergies.

Ireland has 470,000 asthma sufferers – the fourth-largest number in the world and over 80% of children with allergic asthma are sensitive to house dust mites which exist in every household.

Dr Pat Manning, chairman of ASI’s medical committee said: “This study will help us raise awareness around asthma and devise strategies to treat the condition and reduce its occurrence in Ireland.”

Dyson will also allow access to its research facilities and scientific expertise in the UK for the survey.

The firm has already carried a similar international study – the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC).
As long as you continue to overbreathe, you will always have asthma and the products above will only temporarily alleviate your symptoms.

If your doctor thinks your child needs antibiotics, you may want a second opinion. Some researchers think there may be a link between asthma and antibiotics.
Eight-year-old Andrew is an athletic kid. He likes to play basketball and keep up with his friends, but sometimes that’s hard.
“Sometimes I have trouble breathing,” Andrew said.
Approximately one in every eight children in America has asthma.
“My worst fear is in the middle of the night he’ll have such a hard time breathing he’ll just stop and I won’t be there,” Dr. Lisa Kaufman said.
Doctors diagnosed Andrew with asthma when he was just 10 months old, but his health problems began six months earlier when he developed ear infections.
Like most moms, Dr. Lisa Kaufman didn’t hesitate giving her son antibiotics.
“Four or five times he was treated with antibiotics before he was one,” Kaufman said.
Now doctors are asking if antibiotics be linked to asthma. Compelling new research says yes.
Dr. Clifford Bassett from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology said, “Researchers have looked at this, and are looking at larger studies of 200,000 children or more to see whether there really is a link or relationship between the early antibiotic use infection and the diagnosis of increasing asthma.”
The researchers don’t know why antibiotics might cause asthma and stress a link between the two is inconclusive.
Doctors stress antibiotics should be used only when necessary.