By Anne Harding January 11, 2016 NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Azithromycin significantly shortens the duration of asthma-like episodes in young children, according to a new randomized controlled trial. “We’ve shown in the new study that taking out the bacteria has a very dramatic effect,” Dr. Hans Bisgaard of the Copenhagen Prospective Studies of AsthmaRead more
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Taking omega-3 fatty acid supplements during pregnancy can reduce the risk of childhood asthma by almost a third, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The research, at the University of Waterloo in Canada, found that women who were prescribed 2.4 grams of ‘long-chain’ omega-3 supplements during the third trimesterRead more
The grant was awarded to uncover the mechanisms underlying the development of childhood asthma, which today affects approximately 20% of all pre-school-age children in the westernized world. The project is based on extensive data and biological samples from 700 Danish children followed closely since the last part of their mother’s pregnancy in the COPSAC (CopenhagenRead more
Prof. Bisgaard: Birth season has been reported to be a risk factor for several immune-mediated diseases, although the critical season varies depending on the disease. Autoimmune diseases are generally associated with spring births, whereas asthma and allergies are more common among subjects born in fall and winter. Read the interview hereRead more
Prof. Bisgaard: Programming of the immune response in perinatal life seems to contribute to the increased prevalence of immune-mediated diseases. We hypothesized that initiation of labor could affect the developing newborn immune system. Hans Bisgaard is interviewed for Medical Research. Read the interview hereRead more
Dr. Bisgaard: Extended breast-feeding is recommended for newborn children at risk of allergy-associated diseases, but the evidence of a protective effect on sensitization and these diseases remains elusive. Hans Bisgaard is interviewed for Medical Research. Read the interview hereRead more
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Prof. Bisgaard: The purpose of this study was to look for a shared risk factor for immunological diseases which make its debut in childhood. During the recent decades a parallel increase in prevalence of immune diseases such as asthma, allergy, inflammatoryRead more
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study? Answer: First, we identified CDHR3 as a novel susceptibility gene. This is likely to represent a yet unknown mechanism of childhood asthma. Based on the replication birth cohorts this gene particularly plays a role for severe asthma attacks in the first 2 years of life whileRead more
Our picture of allergy is changing. For one thing there is a dramatic rise in prevalence. Eczema, hay fever, asthma, and potentially life-threatening allergies to certain foods, drugs or other substances, have become alarmingly common: the World Allergy Organization White Book on Allergy 2011–2012 estimates that about 30–40% of the world’s population is affected byRead more
Our guts and airways are awash in bacteria—but people with asthma have a different balance of microbes. Could this be a cause of disease? Interview with Hans Bisgaard for Science Couzin-Frankel J. Bacteria and Asthma: Untangling the Links. Science. 2010 Nov 26;330(6008):1168-9.Read more
