Why Asthma's on the Rise and the New Asthma Treatments

The incidence of asthma has more than doubled - from 3% to 7.5% since 1980. Believe it or not, nearly 25 million people in the United States are asthma sufferers. And while there's no shortage of theories about why asthma is becoming a major health concern, there is a shortage of definite answers. Which has led many people to ask why is asthma on the rise, especially in urban neighborhoods, and are there any new asthma treatments?

The two questions actually go hand in hand. Many new asthma treatments have been developed based upon the various theories doctors have come up with to explain asthma's rise. In this light, this article is a look at some of the answers to "why is asthma on the rise and are there new treatments?"

Let's start off with a theory that might sound odd the first time you hear it. Some doctors have come to believe asthma's growing prevalence is actually due to our better health. Because there are far fewer major diseases requiring the attention of our immune systems, these doctors believe our immune systems overreact to minor stressors such as allergens, which trigger histamines and other inflammatory agents in the lungs. Once the lungs become inflamed, bringing the condition under control again can be a major effort.

There are other theories, of course. Even though air quality in general has improved, there are more people than ever living in urban settings where they're overly exposed to the allergens that commonly trigger asthma - cockroaches, dust mites, mold and secondhand smoke. Add to that the fact that children lead far more sedentary lives than they used to, and spend far more time indoors where they're exposed to allergens, and we can begin to see that one reason asthma is on the rise maybe because children are exposed to the allergens far more often these days.

New asthma treatments go beyond medicine to a whole new way of looking at this disease and its management. Rather than focusing on crisis management of acute asthma attacks, new asthma treatments emphasize managing the disease by controlling the environment and daily medication to reduce the risk of acute attacks. These new treatments include once a day oral medications for children with chronic asthma, daily maintenance inhalers, education about asthma triggers and allergens for those dealing with asthma and outreach efforts that involve entire communities.

While there's been a great deal of research on asthma and asthma medications over the past twenty years, there have been few new drugs developed for treatment. This is primarily due to the success of the current inhaler drugs. They work extremely well as long as they're used everyday as prescribed. However, because so many asthma sufferers tend to ignore their doctor's instructions, a major component of this new approach to treating asthma is to educate patients and families about what asthma is and how to prevent asthma attacks.

The good news is that according to the Centers for Disease Control, this new approach to treating asthma with education as well as medication does pay off. In a recent study conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Services, researchers found that children whose families were taught about asthma and how to manage asthma through environmental control had 37.8 more days per year without any symptoms than those who were treated in the hospital, given a prescription, and sent on their way.

David Silva is the webmaster of Asthma Insights. Want to learn more? Read our article on Natural Asthma Treatment

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Ulcerative Colitis - New Treatments Being Developed

Research into new ulcerative colitis treatments is currently being conducted in numerous universities and medical research facilities. The NIH (National Institutes of Health) in the United States reports that there are currently about 270 clinical studies underway or recently completed. More than 600,000 individuals in the U.S. alone - and millions more around the world - could benefit from drugs and therapies developed in these trials.

Approximately 300 ulcerative colitis patients die each year in the United States, so the mortality rate for this disorder is fairly low. Regardless, doctors consider it to be a serious digestive illness. It accounts for 80,000 hospitalizations every year, and doctors prescribe more than two million drugs for it annually.

This disease gets its name because inflammation causes ulcers to grow in the lining of the colon and intestines. These ulcers may produce pus and often bleed.

Medical researchers have not been able to develop any cures for ulcerative colitis. Certain medicines have been developed that alleviate pain from symptoms. These drugs may also reduce inflammation, slow down the progress of the disease, prevent complications, and replace blood and nutritional losses. Plus, these medications may help damaged tissues heal, prevent new flare ups, and lower the necessity of surgery in the future.

In choosing ulcerative colitis medications, your doctor will evaluate the progression of the disorder, the part of the colon that is affected, and any complications that may have developed.

If the disease is in the mild to moderate stage, the first choice of medications is usually aminosalicylates. Drugs called sulfasalazine or mesalamine are often the first choice in these situations. Aminosalicylates focus on reducing any current inflammation, promoting remission, and keeping the disease from becoming active again. Frequently, aminosalicylates are all you need to keep it in remission. Remission means you are not experiencing or suffering symptoms.

When aminosalicylates don't work well enough, corticosteroids are usually the next choice. The main purpose of corticosteroids is to eliminate inflammation, and they'll only be used as long as it takes to bring inflammation under control. As soon as there's no longer inflammation, your doctor will probably resume treatment with aminosalicylates.

When neither aminosalicylates nor corticosteroids bring about remission, your doctor will probably have to try other medications. Typically, such medicine would include immunomodulators, cyclosporine, and infliximab. These medications help reduce or eliminate inflammation by controlling how your immune system responds to your disorder.

Pregnant women with this condition should discuss medications with their doctor. Aminosalicylates and corticosteroids are generally considered to be safe for pregnant women, especially if the doctor believes the disease is more of a threat to the unborn child than any effects of the drugs. Several ulcerative colitis drugs are available that are formulated for use according to the stage of the pregnancy and the severity of symptoms.

Several recent research studies have revealed that the nicotine patch may actually help. But right now it's not really clear how long the benefits last or whether the patch can prevent flare ups. Not only that, but there can other harmful side effects from nicotine - including addiction. So most doctors will hesitate to try the nicotine patch before all other options have been found to be ineffective.

As mentioned above, there are literally hundreds of research studies and clinical trials in progress aimed at discovering new treatments and ulcerative colitis medications. Their efforts, we hope, will soon pay off with the development of new drugs and ulcerative colitis treatments - possibly even in an ulcerative colitis cure.

Related topics: new treatments for ulcerative colitis and new medicine for ulcerative colitis. Neal Kennedy is a former radio and television journalist. To read more of his articles, click on the human colon.

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