Asthma

Apolo Anton Ohno, the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian of all time, was practicing for the 2002 Games when he learned he had exercise-induced asthma. It obviously didn't destroy the sporting career of the eight-time medalist. And now he is the public face of a program to raise awareness about the condition, which affects more than 30 million Americans. Short-track speed skating doesn't seem like the most popular choice of sports for kids. How did you get into it? I was always active as a child.

Schering-Plough Corp., based in Madison, N.J., said it is recalling some of its prescription asthma inhalers because they may not contain active drugs. The recall includes the Proventil and Warrick brands of inhalation aerosols, generic albuterol inhalers, and various doses of Vanceril inhalers made from Sept. 30, 1997 to Sept. 30, 1999.

Parents who decide to rip out the carpeting or buy a humidifier to relieve their child's asthmatic symptoms may be doing the wrong thing. Many of the changes parents make at home for their asthmatic kids are ineffective and may even be detrimental to their kids' health, a new survey found. The University of Michigan study, published in the August issue of the Journal of Allergy and Immunology, found that only half of the 1,788 asthma-proofing steps taken by parents were likely to work.

Medical Science Systems Inc. said it has formed a joint research and development program for asthma with the University of Sheffield's division of molecular and genetic medicine. Medical Science Systems said it was granted the worldwide license to develop and sell all genetic susceptibility, diagnostic and therapeutic applications resulting from the program with the British university. Both parties have completed three clinical trials and will move some discoveries into the development phase.

An antibiotic made by French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis may reduce some symptoms when asthma worsens but it does not improve breathing capacity, according to a study financed by the drug company. The study, published in last week's New England Journal of Medicine, found that 278 adults who took the antibiotic telithromycin -- sold by Sanofi-Aventis under the name Ketek -- for 10 days after their attacks showed a drop in asthma symptoms.

A 38-year-old postal clerk was so badly traumatized by a robbery almost three weeks ago that she is still unable to return to work, postal officials said Thursday. The woman, of Lancaster, is an asthmatic who suffered a severe choking attack when the post office was held up at gunpoint March 2, said Pamela Prince, a postal service spokeswoman. Although not hospitalized, the clerk has been unable to return to work ever since, Prince said. About 1:30 p.m.

Children raised on farms don't suffer from asthma as much as their city- and suburb-dwelling counterparts, according to a paper published online Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. But it's not necessarily because of the fresh air, full sun and hard work, researchers say -- it's because of the germs. Scientists had known that many of the things associated with farm life -- unpasteurized milk, exposure to animals such as cows and pigs, and hay -- helped kids grow up with stronger constitutions, perhaps because they were being exposed to harmless, even beneficial, bacteria along the way. To test this hypothesis, the researchers analyzed samples of house dust to look at the microbes within.

The city of Oakland will receive federal funding from the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement a school-based program to fight asthma. The $5-million, five-year grant will support a local program called Oakland Kicks Asthma, Rep. Barbara Lee said. Asthma rates in Oakland are among the highest in the nation.

Asthma should be treated just as aggressively in pregnant women as it is in the general population, federal health officials urged Monday in a new report that they predicted would have a major impact. The report concluded that the dangers of uncontrolled asthma are far greater to the mother and fetus than any known risks associated with asthma medications.

Japanese scientists said last week that they had artificially reproduced a gene that plays an important role in causing asthma, the respiratory ailment that is the most widespread chronic disease in the developed world. Researchers from the University of Tokyo reported in Nature that their discovery could make it possible for the first time to design effective drugs against asthma and other inflammatory diseases.