Primary nonadherence to inhaled corticosteroids among patients with asthma is common and is associated with lower baseline rescue medication use, researchers report. This may reflect lower perceived need for inhaled steroids among patients with milder asthma, they report in the November issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Reuters Health Information
More than half the children who develop asthma before 6 years of age continue to have asthma at age 12 years, according to a report by physicians in Canada. Reuters Health Information
Omalizumab is not a cost-effective treatment for most patients with severe asthma, according to an analysis presented in the November Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Reuters Health Information
An examination of the relationship between environmental changes and disease transmission and look at a structure from which to unite disparate pieces of information from a variety of disciplines. Environmental Health Perspectives
Both budesonide inhalation suspension and montelukast are safe and effective for young children with mild persistent asthma, according to results of a study published in the November issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. However, budesonide may be more beneficial overall. Reuters Health Information
Mepolizumab, a humanized anti-interleukin-5 monoclonal antibody, does not appear to give additional benefit to the majority of patients whose asthma is incompletely controlled by corticosteroid therapy, UK and US researchers report. Reuters Health Information
A study shows that menopause is associated with lower lung function and more respiratory tract symptoms, especially among lean women. Medscape Medical News
George Lundberg, Editor-in-Chief, The Medscape Journal of Medicine, explains why the name change in our original, open-access primary source general medical journal. The Medscape Journal of Medicine
Immunization of adult allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell donors with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) appears to help recipients mount an immunogenic response to subsequent vaccination, more so than does a similar strategy using pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23), clinicians from Canada report. Reuters Health Information