Asthma patients suffer from breathing disorders. Gasping for air, panting and sweating are few of the common symptoms of a person suffering from an asthma attack. One of the best but an appalling remedy for all the patients suffering from asthma flare-ups that are very sudden and spontaneous in nature is implementing miniscule electrical stimulus under the neck.

Renowned researchers from five institutions in USA have concluded that electrical stimulus is a safe option. It plays a significant role of unblocking the air passage that has been obstructed that causes lack of oxygen to reach the lungs. It is a great medication that can be used during severe asthma attacks and even when medicine fail to show wonders. According to the American Lung Association, approximately 23million Americans are suffering from this deadly disease.

The scientific study that was conducted by eminent researchers from five different esteemed US institutions had four alert and receptive adults between the ages of 26 years and 58 years that suffered from asthma. These patients had been brought to a hospital in the emergency room while suffering from mild to severe asthma attacks that failed to improve despite using inhalers and effective anti-inflammatory medication (steroids).

The treatment was considered a disappointment if the patient was successful in attaining a maximum score of 70% or less in the lung function test that calculated the amount of air that could be easily forced out of the patient’s lungs after inhaling a deep breath. This activity is generally referred as force expiratory volume, or FEV. FEV1 is the amount of air that is let out by the patient in the first second.

Electrical Stimulation Procedure

The electrical promptness during a severe attack or when medicines fail to work is a modest and an omnipresent technique that is carried out while the patient is conscious and awake. The neck area is the place where the electrical stimulus is given hence anesthesia is applied to the same. The doctor would proceed by plugging an electrode under the skin of the neck and thus the surrounding tissue including the carotid artery and vagus nerve are encompassed as well. The display of live ultrasound graphics would facilitate the placement further.

The subjects of this particular research received placid and incessant electrical stimuli for a span of three hours that ranged from 1-12 volts. The enhanced voltage resulted in easing the symptoms or it even resulted in facilitating muscle contracting and a sense of discomfort.

The researchers meticulously measured the breathing patterns before the electrical stimulus was given every half an hour during the implementation of the electrical remedy and also after the entire method was implemented.

After half an hour of injecting electrical stimulus for severe asthma flare-ups the subjects were able easily propel more air out of the lungs and the FEV1 score increased for half an hour after the electrical remedy.

The team of researchers state that electrical stimulus is an easy and medicine free method that helps in gushing out more air from the lungs after a deep breath. It is a non-air-flow pattern that has great results. It is effective in opening the obstructed airways in a quick manner. The findings of this research will be announced in San Diego in CHEST 2009 at American College of Chest Physicians.

As per the suggestions of early research, treatment using oral contraceptives can help premenopausal in treating asthma though the symptoms of asthma are not associated with the menstrual cycles.

In a rigorous research conducted by at University of Alberta, the researchers have proved that varying levels of progesterone and estrogen can have straight effect on the markings of air duct inflammation. Oral contraceptives are used as supplementary treatments for women suffering from asthma whose symptoms are linked closely with their periods. The data to prove the influence of the sex hormones progesterone and estrogen on asthma was not available earlier and with this research proving it, new methods for treating asthma for pregnant women have evolved.

The research was conducted on seventeen premenopausal women who had moderate or severe asthma and were asked to meet the research crew everyday over the time span of 36 days till the entire menstrual cycle was complete. The measurement of levels of progesterone and estrogen were done each day and also the marking of air duct inflammation and asthma symptoms were supervised every day. Also, the skin-prick allergy tests were carried out every alternate day. The research required lot of efforts from every person involved and problems like university closure, snow storms and power outages were faced during it. But with much effort from everyone, 99 percent of the planned assessments were carried out with fail.

9 of the women in study were making use of oral contraceptives and 8 were not using them. Out of seventeen women, four had asthma symptoms associated with menstrual cycle. Since women who take oral contraceptives did not have noticeable modifications in the progestin and estrogen during their menstrual cycles, they did not anticipate any variations in the asthma throughout their menstrual cycle.

Women who do not take oral contraceptive must have changes in the levels of progesterone and estrogen which can cause some variations in the markers. The women who feel large variations in progesterone but minimal changes in estrogen during the menstrual cycle are most likely susceptible to asthma related cycle.

Mandhane hopes that the determinations prove the bigger studies examining the use of oral contraceptives for treatment with premenopausal women. The famous pain reliever acetaminophen has been associated with an enhanced risk of asthma in adults and children based on a new research review of the articles published earlier by Canadian researchers.

The research has successfully proved that throughout menstruation period, women who suffer from asthma and did not take oral contraceptives had smaller levels of breathed out Nitric Oxide (eNO) which is an indicator of air duct inflammation. Also, the women who do not use oral contraceptives had greater average eNo levels that the women who used oral contraceptives. Also, among the asthma infected women who did not use oral contraceptives, the estrogen levels were increased with the reduction in eNO, while the increase progesterone levels was mainly linked with the increase in levels of eNO. Scientists ponder that Oral contraceptives can have crucial role in managing asthma treatment in premenopausal women.

Acetaminophen is prescribed by the doctor to get rid of fever and it may increase the chances of asthma in both adults and children as per a new research that has been published by the esteemed team of Canadian researchers.

The manufacturer of the medicine says that the painkiller has got a green signal from the government and does not cause asthma.

The researches have conducted an odd figure of 19 clinical examinations with more than 425,000 subjects to examine the fact that does the use of Acetaminophen and development of asthma in people has a connection or not. You may be shocked to learn that the result was positive. It caused wheezing.

Results of The Medical Studies

You may ask how you can come to the above stated conclusion. This disturbing yet true fact was affirmed in 2008 in the ISSAC (International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood) periodical termed The Lancet clearly states the renowned author (Mahyar Etminan) is a scientist at the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute in British Columbia and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia.

In this scientific document the researchers examined observed more than 205,000 children between the age groups of six to seven years in 31 countries and concluded that the painkiller that caused relief from fever has magnified the hazard of developing asthma in children. It may lead to accentuated symptoms of asthma as well.

Various other studies had contradictory and confusing results hence the research was scrutinized by the Canadian team. Sales of the painkiller amount to $1 billion in USA.

The Risk of Asthma

The Canadian team of researchers reviewed the medical records and tried to compute the hazard of asthma and wheezing tendencies in people that used acetaminophen tablets.

Researchers concluded and concentrated only on 19 medical literatures. The people that used acetaminophen tablets were 63% and had greater chances of developing asthma than the rest of the people.

The findings of the researchers include the following:

There was in increase of 60% chances of developing the deadly disease of asthma in children the year they were consuming acetaminophen as diagnosed.

The children who popped acetaminophen in the first year itself were exposed to developing the disease by 47% as compared to those children that did not use the painkiller.

Adults that consumed acetaminophen tablets had greater chances of developing the disease by 74% than those who refrained from using the medicine.

The hazard of wheezing jumped 50% and the danger of developing asthma increased by 28% among children that used acetaminophen.

The Canadian researcher have concluded that children suffering from Asthma are expected to consume acetaminophen for viral or ordinary fever which may be because of the prevalence of asthma and it may pave the way for the diagnosis for the disease as well. It is not strictly laid down that the use of acetaminophen and asthma is the cause and effect but there is an association though. There are various other reasons that may elucidate this connection in a concrete manner. Acetaminophen is known to advance an enzyme that causes asthma. There may be a host of other reasons as well. Studies do not clearly produce evidence and throw light over any one particular fact. In fact more comprehensive and numerous scientific literature is required to prove the same.