Posted on 12/14/2010 7:07:47 AM PST by decimon
Study finds cause of allergic reaction could be growing in your lungs
Scientists investigating the allergic reactions that asthmatics suffer towards a common mould have discovered that many people with asthma actually had the mould growing in their own lungs.
The research led by University of Leicester scientists at Glenfield Hospital has been published in the December 2010 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The team based in the Institute for Lung Health at the University of Leicester and Glenfield Hospital examined the impact on asthmatics of a common environmental mould, Aspergillus fumigates, usually found in soil and compost heaps.
Professor Andy Wardlaw from the University of Leicester said: "Asthma is a very common condition where the breathing tubes (bronchi) can go into spasm making it difficult to breathe. Around a fifth of adults with severe asthma, which they have had for a long time, get permanent (fixed) narrowing of their bronchi. It is known that A. fumigatus can grow in the lungs of some people with asthma and mould allergy, which can cause severe lung damage.
"This problem is thought to only affect a very small number of people with asthma; however, about half of people with severe asthma have evidence of allergy to moulds like A. fumigatus."
Researchers in the Institute for Lung Health at the University of Leicester and Glenfield Hospital, Leicester, carried out a study funded by the Midlands Asthma and Allergy Research Association (MAARA, a Midlands based charity funding research into asthma and allergy research. www.maara.org) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), to determine whether the problem of A. fumigatus growing in the lungs is more common than previously thought, and whether this could explain the fixed narrowing of the airways that occurs in some people with asthma.
Professor Wardlaw added: "Our study showed that 6 out of 10 people with asthma who were allergic to A. fumigatus grew the mould from their sputum. We also found that if you were allergic to A. fumigatus you had more narrowing of the airways than if you were not allergic, and this was worse in patients from whom A. fumigatus was grown.
"Our research concluded that it is possible that fixed narrowing of breathing tubes in many people with asthma could be caused by A. fumigatus growing in their lungs.
"Treating individuals from whom A. fumigatus is detected with antibiotics against the mould may prevent fixed narrowing of the airways. "
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NOTE TO NEWSDESK: For more information, please contact: Professor Andy Wardlaw, Tel: 0116 256 3841 (Secretary, Gail Fretter)
It would be great if this turns out to be a treatable condition for many that suffer with asthma. Quite a different approach than treating with steroids.
I think my computer is on its last legs. It’s 10 years old. I had to do a “system restore” to get online. I can only open one window at a time. Unless I can download another browser that can use this old dog, I won’t be posting much for a couple of weeks. I never could update beyond Internet Explorer 6 with Microsoft updates.
Good luck with the puter.
Ten years old? There are a lot of sales on this stuff this time of year.
Thanks for the ping!
Tried Linux? There are many variations that are lightweight, great for older computers, and easy to use. Whatever you choose please don’t leave FR your ping list is the best!
Thanks for the compliment. My ISP is suggesting Firefox, but I think it could be a hardware problem. I’ve done over 6 system restore attempts so far, if I leave this forum to check other websites. The computer will just freeze on the Wall St. Journal, Reason, etc., and I have to start it again. If I have to leave, I’ll come back if I’m alive.
I wonder if there might be a borderline situation with this mold that mimics asthma?? I have SEVERE allergies to mold (eventually had to move out of Louisiana, my home state, because of them), and I have a similar night cough, and some of the other symptoms noted on this thread, but never been diagnosed with actual asthma. My latest ENT thought it might be from “silent acid reflux”, but having tried elevating my bed and taking “proton suppressors”, and still having the cough, I, like you, wonder........
I blended a mixture of ice, honey, apple cider vinegar and garlic and started sipping on it.
I no longer have the condition but since have added large doses of Ester C and Vit. D.
I do not tout this as a cure because I have no idea. I only know none of the usual rememdies worked for me and I had bad reactions to cough medicine--I was a mess.
Acid reflux was an initial diagnosis, too. The only reason he gave me the Singulair was to help with my allergies. I was taking the allergy shots weekly and they were about to kill me. I was in bed most of the day. Now with the Singulair the allergies are better and the cough is gone!!
Hard drive failure, sounds like. I’ve got the same thing going on here. Mid-1990s PowerMac; I’m finally going to upgrade this last-legs Quantum 1.1 gb internal, and probably will also retire the 10K rpm IBM external SCSI 18 gb. Had some ink cartridges I got for nothing, got lots of credit ($1 apiece) at Staples, and have a PATA 500 gb coming, cost less than $50 to me.
My doctor told me a story like yours some years ago. He had a patient who only had allergic reactions on Sunday. Every Sunday by the time he got out of church his hands and arms would be swollen and he'd have hives. It was like clockwork - just like yours. They kept trying to eliminate different things - it took weeks to figure out. Then it came to them - the only thing different as he read the Sunday comics - printed with colored inks. This was back in the days of black and white comics. Anyhow, he quit reading the Sunday comics and was cured. Is there anything you do after 6 o'clock?
They would make nice molds.
I just bought a new refurbished computer for $300. Don’t torture yourself, put it out of it’s misery. You could probably find something decent on craigslist for $100.00.
Sorry to hear about your computer problems neverdem.
Thanks for all the pings.
thanks decimon, and thanks Smokin’ Joe.
bttt
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