asthma

A molecule involved in asthma and allergies has now been shown to make mice resistant to skin cancer, according to Raphael Kopan, PhD, and his colleagues at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Children who use inhaled steroid drugs for asthma end up slightly shorter at their full adult height than children who don’t use the drugs, new results from a comprehensive asthma study show. The study’s senior author is Robert C. Strunk, MD, the Donald Strominger Professor of Pediatrics.

Washington University in St. Louis has awarded five Bear Cub fund grants totaling $190,000 to support innovative research that has shown commercial potential. Jerry Morrissey (right), PhD, received one of the grants to develop rapid tests for the early development of kidney cancer.

Balancing research, patient care, administration and mentoring could be overwhelming to some, but Leonard Bacharier, MD, says it’s all about remembering one’s priorities. The WUSTL alumnus is now one of the leading pediatric asthma and allergy specialists nationwide, helping kids feel and breathe better.

Research by asthma specialists nationwide, including Leonard B. Bacharier, MD, and Mario Castro, MD, at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, find that adding prescription acid controllers to standard inhaled steroid treatment does not improve asthma symptoms or control of the condition in children. The results are considered to be the most comprehensive evaluation to date of the effectiveness of prescription acid controllers to improve asthma symptoms and control among children.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, including Michael Holtzman, MD, have received an $8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the role of the barrier functions of the skin, gut, and airway in asthma and allergic diseases. Understanding the role of the epithelial cells in these tissues may help prevent and treat respiratory illnesses in the future, the researchers say.

Pediatricians often treat young children who have frequent bouts of wheezing with a daily dose of an inhaled steroid to keep asthma symptoms at bay. But results of a recent study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, including Leonard B. Bacharier, MD, are likely to change that.

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis asthma specialist Mario Castro, MD, is seeking volunteers for a study investigating whether taking vitamin D can make asthma medication more effective. Study participants must be 18 or older and have a physician’s diagnosis of asthma. They also must have been taking some type of therapy to control their asthma for at least one year.

Two related studies at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and St. Louis Children’s Hospital are looking at whether medication can prevent respiratory infections in young children from becoming more serious.

A single dose of inactivated 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine in people with asthma is safe, according to results from a national clinical trial with a site at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.