A new study from the University of Leicester in the UK is giving scientists a clearer understanding of how a protein called high-mobility group box 1, or HMGB1 for short, plays a pivotal role in asthma.
During an asthma attack, the lining of one’s airways become inflamed, and more mucus is produced, making it harder to breath. HMGB1 is a protein which, among other things, promotes inflammation.
Taking heartburn medication while pregnant may increase your child’s risk of developing asthma, according to a review of studies recently published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
The review looked at eight different studies with a combined total of more than 1,600,000 participants. It found that children whose mothers took H2 blockers such as Pepcid and Tagamet while pregnant had a 46% increased risk of asthma development.
Thunderstorm asthma has been in the news a lot lately, after a recent case in Melbourne, Australia sent around 8,500 people to the emergency room and killed 8.
What exactly is thunderstorm asthma? During a thunderstorm, winds pick up grass, tree, and weed pollens that under normal circumstances would be too big to breath in.
We don’t know exactly what causes asthma, but it seems to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors.
One of the many genetic factors scientists have linked to an increased asthma risk is gene variants located on chromosome 17 at region 2 band 1, aka 17q21.
On May 14th Robbie Grayson had an asthma attack and nearly died. He may have to, if it wasn’t for his daughter Edith.
Edith Grayson woke up in the middle of the night to the sounds of her father having an asthma attack. Robbie tried his inhaler, and his nebulizer, but neither of them could stop the attack. Within a few minutes, Robbie had passed out in the bathroom and his pulse had stopped.