Posted: 26 Mar 2010 04:46 AM PDT

Results of a recent UK study suggest that white children are more likely to have asthma than children of Indian and Bangladeshi heritage.

The team of researchers, representing the Social and Public Health Sciences Unit of the Medical Research Council, UK, used students, between the age of 11 and 13, from 51 schools in London as subjects for their study.

In the study, it was found that the condition prevailed less in Indian and Bangladeshi girls and Black African boys and girls as compared to the white boys and girls.

The study also showed that children, within their ethnic groups, having a family history of asthma or a generally poor mental health, were more likely to develop the breathing problem.

Another data suggested that increased body mass index (BMI), particularly in Black Africans, also increased the risk of developing asthma of a child.

Melissa J. Whitrow, PhD, and Seeromanie Harding, MSc, both of the Medical Research Council in Glasgow, Scotland, who were a part of the study, wrote, "The results suggest a role for socio-environmental factors in patterning ethnic differences in asthma in adolescence".

The details of the study can be found in the online journal BMC Pediatrics.

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Volunteers needed for asthma research - Mansfield News Journal

Posted: 26 Mar 2010 03:27 AM PDT

MANSFIELD -- North central Ohio adults with asthma can help a medical research team from Madison, Wisc., prepare a study targeting the rural Midwest.

David Van Sickle, a post doctoral fellow studying population health sciences at the University of Wisconsin, said scientists are seeking 150 asthmatics who use inhalers.

Volunteers will be asked to record their symptoms, when and where they happen, using an innovative tool that Reciprocal Sciences unveiled last year. The device, called the Spiroscout, is a GPS-enabled inhaler that pinpoints the exact geographic location and time when the inhaler is used.

"Our analyses of national survey data suggest that asthma is as prevalent in rural areas as in urban areas," said Teresa Morrison, medical epidemiologist in the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch at the federal Centers for Disease Control. "Our goal is to document patterns of asthma symptoms among rural residents in Midwestern states, and learn more about possible environmental exposures that potentially lead to asthma attacks."

Debora Ortega-Carr, a doctor at Midwest Allergy and Asthma Associates on Cline Avenue, said most data suggests higher frequency of asthma triggers in cities than in rural areas. She also noted a significant genetic component.

"We know from previous studies in rural areas that grain, dust and tobacco smoke can all trigger asthma, but we want this study to generate new hypotheses," Van Sickle said. "We also don't want to enter the study with too many pre-existing ideas.

"At the individual level, people will learn about new environments or new triggers, and at the aggregate level, we hope to learn which work places or occupations are triggers."

There is no cost to participate and there is no risk involved. Participants will receive a small gift card.

"We don't change anyone's medication or dosage, we're just tracking," Van Sickle said.

For information, call 608-554-0750.

jkinton@nncogannett.com 419-521-7220

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'Miracle' asthma cure - Health 24

Posted: 26 Mar 2010 02:44 AM PDT

Last updated: Friday, March 26, 2010 Print

A centuries-old salt mine in Pakistan is offering experimental asthma therapy, attracting patients from all over the world.

Khewra, billed as the world's second largest salt mine, has for centuries extracted the crucial mineral for export and has become a tourist attraction complete with a salt mosque and an electric train.

Now, the mine is cashing in on salt therapy, already a draw in the salt mines of eastern Europe and a synthetic clinic in Britain.

Clinics claim that asthma patients and sufferers of other respiratory illnesses benefit from inhaling antibacterial salt particles in a sterile environment, helping loosen mucus and clear the lung passages.

Recover through the air

"We don't use any medicine, because the asthmatic allergy patients recover through the air, so we provide them an environment in which their breathing can improve," said Akhlaq Bukhari, head doctor at the Khewra clinic.

Although there have been few clinical studies, salt caves are seen by some as a therapeutic alternative to drugs and there are natural and synthetic salt caves springing up all over the world.

While other clinics offer treatment for bronchitis, cystic fibrosis, and even ear infections, Shah says the Khewra clinic only treats patients whose asthma is triggered by allergies.

"I have come here all the way from Canada. I could not recover there through medicine, but I am feeling better since my arrival here," said Naeem Shamsher, a civil engineer from Canada.

Shamsher had tried medicine doled out by doctors back home, but felt little relief and struggled to walk far without becoming breathless, so relatives in Pakistan suggested he visit the Khewra Mines.

"Now I can run and even play soccer just after spending three days in the mine," said Shamsher, who says he feels 60% better after the treatment.

'Upmarket guesthouse'

The mine, located 160km south of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, was discovered in 320 BC by Alexander's troops and first developed by British colonial rulers in 1872, mine officials say.

Located deep underground in the mine, the asthma clinic resembles an upmarket guesthouse, with 12 beds covered in white sheets and red blankets in six independent cabins separated with salt bricks and softly lit by lamps.

There is a reception area decorated with salt lamps and a lounge complete with a fountain, sofas and a television set.

The walls and roof of the clinic are made from pure salt and a fan helps maintain the temperature and humidity, creating the so-called "micro-climate" that offers patients relief, Shah says.

A 10-day course at the Khewra Mines salt therapy centre costs 5,300 rupees (R460), with 11 hours a day spent in the caves while nights are spent in a nearby hospital.

60% of patients experience relief

Since opening in 2007, the clinic has treated about 500 patients. Shah claims that 60% of patients experience some relief from their symptoms and says patients have come from as far as Britain and Saudi Arabia.

Science is lacking

But Shahid Abbas, a doctor who runs the private Allergy and Asthma Centre in Islamabad, told AFP that although an asthma or allergy sufferer may get temporary relief, there is no quick-fix cure.

"There is no scientific proof that a person can permanently get rid of asthma by breathing in a salt mine or in a particular environment," he said.

Khaled Sajjad Khokhar, managing director of the Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation, a government body which owns the mine, says they will assess the success of the Khewra clinic before approving its expansion to 100 beds.

But some patients are returning, happy to get even temporary relief.

"This hospital is a blessing, it gave me a second life. I never had problems breathing after spending 10 days over there in 2007," said Pakistani patient Adnan Khan, on his second visit to the clinic. - (Khurram Shahzad/Sapa, March 2010)

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