Cover Article
Cataracts: Another Reason to Lower the IC Dosage
It is well established that systemic corticosteroids increase the risk of cataracts. Now, a new study has shown that inhaled corticosteroids, when used at high doses and for a long duration, also raise the likelihood of cataract development.

Selected Articles

• Primary Pulmonary Hypertension: A Form of Malignancy?
• Melon Allergy and Asthma—A Connection
• Rethinking the Definition of Allergy
• Genetic Marker for Atopic Dermatitis Found
• IL-10: A Potential Therapy for Contact Allergy?
• RF Tonsillectomy Safe and Effective for Tonsillitis
• Reducing Cat Allergen in the Home—Helpful But Hard Work for Patients
• Literature Monitor

Cover Article
Getting CAP Patients on Their Feet
Could staying in bed be bad for the health of patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP)? Approximately 15% of such patients require hospitalization, at an annual cost to the US of $4 billion. A team of researchers from Washington University in St. Louis has now found that this simple intervention shortens hospital stays by one day and reduces costs.

Selected Articles

• Childhood Wheezing May Affect Lung Function in Adulthood
• Asthma: Not Always Defined by Inflammation?
• Predicting Asthma Morbidity During Pregnancy
• Overnight Corticotropin Levels Elevated in Nocturnal Asthma
• Are Dermatologic Contraindications to Smallpox Vaccine Underestimated?
• Viral-Induced Asthma Worsened by NO2 Exposure
• Literature Monitor

Cover Article
Rat Allergen and Asthma in the Inner City
Does exposure to rats increase the risk of asthma among inner-city residents? Until recently, this question has received surprisingly little attention. However, new data suggest that rat allergen is common in inner-city homes and that sensitization to it significantly increases asthma morbidity.

Selected Articles

• The ß-Agonist Paradox: New Findings
• Pneumococcal Vaccine and Cochlear Implants—New Recommendations
• Empiric Treatment for Pharyngitis Not the Best Strategy
• Do Food Allergies Interact With Life-Threatening Asthma?
• “Heurisitic Biases” and Wrongful Interpretation of Allergic Tests
• What Works Best for Mild and Moderate Asthma?
• Literature Monitor

Cover Article
Arginase Pathway Suggests New Approaches to Asthma Therapy
Gene microarray technology has revealed up-regulation of the enzyme arginase in two distinct models of experimental asthma—and in the lungs of asthma patients. Up-regulation of arginase occurs in response not only to allergens but also to interleukins 4 and 13, cytokines thought to be central to development of the asthma phenotype. The findings point to new targets for asthma therapy.

Selected Articles

• CYP2A6 DEL Keeps Smokers Smoking—But Protects Against COPD
• Nebulized Epinephrine Not Helpful in Acute Bronchiolitis
• Used Alone, Bedding Covers Don’t Reduce Allergy, Asthma Symptoms
• ELISAs Measure a Toxic Mold
• Isotonic Nebulized Magnesium Sulfate for Asthma
• Literature Monitor

Cover Article
Exploring the Role of Mold in Asthma
Exposure to mold, whether indoors or outdoors, seems to play a part in the development or worsening of respiratory problems, including asthma. Although researchers generally agree that mold affects respiratory health, they are uncertain if it is the mold itself that causes symptoms or the dust mites that flourish in damp environments. Furthermore, if mold is the culprit, exactly how does it affect the lungs?

Selected Articles

• Inhaled Corticosteroids Don’t Slow FEV1 Decline in COPD
• Early Life Is Key for Asthma and Allergy Pathogenesis
• Community-Based Asthma Interventions Work—Even in the Inner City
• Administration Method, Not Drug, May Make Difference for Acute Pediatric Asthma
• Treating OSA Can Lower AF Recurrence
• Literature Monitor

Cover Article
Childhood Asthma “Epidemic” Reported in Harlem
The Harlem Children’s Zone Asthma Initiative, an ongoing, intensive effort to test and treat for asthma every child living within a 24-block area of Harlem, has revealed an unprecedented asthma prevalence of 25.5%. Although several factors could contribute to this childhood asthma “epidemic,” clinicians and public health researchers are focusing on how to reduce the shockingly high rate.

Selected Articles

• NETT Findings Clarify LVRS Risk, Benefits, Costs
• Echinacea: What You See Isn’t Always What You Get
• Pools and Asthma: The Chlorine Hypothesis
• How Do Viral Infections Affect Asthma?
• Sinus CT Identifies Vocal Cord Dysfunction
• Asthma May Lead to Irreversible Airway Obstruction
• Literature Monitor

Cover Article
Asthma Phenotype, Genotype May Guide Future Therapies
The early environment may be important in determining whether a child develops atopy or asthma, but children’s responses to their environment are not all alike: The disease phenotype may be determined by genetic background as well as by exposure.

Selected Articles

• Infection Control in the Time of SARS
• Peanut Allergy: Risk Factors, Therapy Identified
• Exhaled NO: A Useful Diagnostic Tool in Asthma
• Homeopathy Is Not Effective for Mild to Moderate Asthma
• Aspirin Desensitization Effective After Four Weeks
• Literature Monitor

Cover Article
A Close Look at the Clinical Course of SARS
As the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spreads around the world, physicians must learn to recognize its early symptoms and to understand its clinical course. This report provides details about SARS’s signs, symptoms, lab abnormalities, and radiologic findings.

Selected Articles

• Update on the Pet Paradox: Animals and Allergic Asthma
• Response to ICS Blunted in Asthmatic Smokers
• Do Vaccines Cause Allergies and Other Chronic Diseases?
• Conference News Update: 60th Anniversary Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
• Likely Cause of SARS Identified
• Literature Monitor

Cover Article
Deaths from Flu and RSV Increasing
Deaths from influenza and respiratory syncytial virus increased significantly between 1976 and 1999. The elderly segment of the population—those 65 and older—had the highest rates of mortality from these diseases.

Selected Articles

• Sleep-Disordered Breathing Linked to Parasomnia in Kids
• Even Low ETS Exposure Reduces Vitamin C in Children
• Diagnosing Asthma in Preschoolers
• Is Atopic Cough a Prelude to Asthma?
• Delivery Device Affects Inhaled Steroid Absorption
• Cause or Effect: Gray Matter Loss in OSA Patients
• Childhood Immunization Recommendations for 2003

Cover Article
Eosinophil Counts: A Better Marker for Asthma Management
Monitoring asthma symptoms is necessary for ongoing, efficient disease management. A new study suggests that using sputum eosinophil counts may be more effective than using traditional methods to make decisions on adjusting treatment.

Selected Articles

• “Real World” Study Addresses Early Inhaled Steroid Use in Mild Asthma
• Pertussis Outbreak at an Oil Refinery
• Dispelling Myths About Sinusitis
• Risk Factors for Paresis After Ventilation
• Is 'Mild' Asthma Really Mild?
• Bacterial Extract Limits Recurrent URTIs

Cover Article
COPD and the Incidence of Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis occurs more frequently in people with COPD than in those with asthma, despite greater corticosteroid use in asthma. This study looks at causative factors in both groups, including low body mass index (BMI), malnutrition, and smoking—as well as COPD itself.

Selected Articles

• ß1-Blockers Safe in Reactive Airway Disease
• Preventing Influenza in Children: Gials and Issues
• HIV Superinfection Despite Strong Immune Response
• Risk Factors for Asthma Exacerbations During Travel
• New Insights Into Rhinosinusitis
• The Cognitive Effects of Allergic Rhinitis
• Intranasal Antifungal for Chronic Rhinosinusitis

Cover Article
Can Christopher Reeve Get Off the Ventilator?
Actor Christopher Reeve is making an unprecedented recovery from his 1995 spinal cord injury. He has already regained sensory function in more than 70% of his body as well as 20% of his normal motor function. Now his focus is to breathe entirely on his own. Read about the novel therapy behind his continuing recovery.

Selected Articles

• Jury Out on Asthma Action Plans
• What Causes COPD in Nonsmokers?
• Dexamethasone for Adult Bacterial Meningitis
• Hygiene Hypothesis Gains Support in the United States and in Europe
• Alternative Medicine: Is It Viable in Asthma and Allergy?
• Indoor Heat Sources Contribute to Infant Respiratory Syndrome