Blogged Health

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The use of beta-agonist inhalers, which include drugs such as Proventil (albuterol), for asthma appears to promote the accumulation of immune cells called type 2 T cells, according to a report in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The results reinforce the importance of including anti-inflammatory steroids, note the authors.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - High blood levels of uric acid are significantly associated with an increased risk of high blood pressure, also know as hypertension, in blacks, particularly black men, a new study indicates.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children having their tonsils removed can be safely sent home within 2 hours of completing the operation, according to a report in the International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children who smoke are almost four times more likely to develop asthma than those who don't smoke, and their risk is even greater if their mothers smoked while pregnant with them, a new study shows.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Chemotherapy causes transient changes in sensitive areas of the brain, which may partly account for some of the previously reported cognitive difficulties reported by patients and referred to as "chemobrain," Japanese investigators report in the journal Cancer.