Asthma treatment

501. The Cincinnati Post – April 21, 1998 New weapons against allergies on the horizon As anyone with a nose knows, this spring’s pollen crop arrived early, courtesy of El Nino. Spores from trees, followed by grasses, followed by weeds, with a bonus dollop of molds, are expected to be clogging up the bronchial tubes from now until fall. An estimated 35 million Americans suffer from allergic rhinitis or hay fever and about 15 million have asthma, with much overlap between the two groups. The silver lining to this year’s allergy season is that an ….. Scripps Howard News Service – April 21, 1998 THERE’S NEW RELIEF ON THE WAY FOR ALLERGY SUFFERERS As anyone with a nose knows, this spring’s pollen crop has arrived early and often across much of the country, courtesy of the mild, wet El Nino winter. Spores from trees, followed by grasses, followed by weeds, with a bonus dollop of molds, are expected to be seizing the sinuses and clogging up the bronchial tubes from now until the fall frosts. An estimated 35 million Americans suffer from allergic rhinitis or hay fever and about 15 million have asthma, with much overlap ….. (PA) – April 21, 1998 A SCRATCH AND SNIFF SUMMER MILD WINTER WILL MEAN ABUNDANT POLLEN, MOSQUITOES AND FLEAS Scratch, sniffle and sneeze. If you have allergies, you’re probably going to suffer more than usual this year. And it’s El Nino’s fault. Of all the things El Nino has been blamed for, this may be one of the strangest. The massive warm swelling of the Pacific Ocean off the South American coast that is affecting weather worldwide graced this area with a mild, moist winter. That left the area lush with pollens and mold spores that make people wheeze ….. . – April 6, 1998 Swing — achoo! — into spring // Cookouts, baseball lure folks out — to allergists For most Americans, at least red-blooded ones, springtime means baseball, apple pie, backyard grilling and the smell of freshly-cut grass. For about six million Americans each year, however, springtime is the beginning of the annual hunt for decongestants that won’t make you drowsy during the day and tissues that don’t feel like 80-grit sandpaper. It’s the start of allergy season. Tree pollen, tiny, powderlike male sex cells scattered in ….. Boston Globe – March 30, 1998 SNEEZING EARLY? IT’S EL NINO’S FAULT Just when you thought there was nothing left to blame on El Nino comes this: We’re in for an unusually early — and perhaps long and nasty — allergy season this year. Granted, everybody always thinks whatever allergy season they’re suffering through is the worst ever, but this year, it really will be bad — and in some places, already is — because El Nino created perfect growing conditions for trees and molds — a mild winter in the Northeast, rains in the South ….. (Riverside, CA) – March 24, 1998 Allergy season harsh during El Nino year Drier weather, Santa Anas will worsen conditions El Nino has unleashed on Southern Californians downpours, floods, mudslides and one of the nastiest spring allergy seasons in recent memory. And the worst of the allergy problems is yet to come. “I’m starting to warn my patients that their usual medications may not be enough to control their symptoms this year, ” said Dr. James L. Munson, an allergist at Beaver Medical Clinic in Redlands. The El Nino rains produced a bumper crop of vegetation. But ….. – March 18, 1998 Side effect of drugs: Lot of ads Spending rose 41% Emboldened by looser rules, the nation’s drug makers last year spent a record amount of money – nearly $844 million – on advertising that was aimed directly at influencing consumers. The unprecedented promotions, which amounted to a 41 percent increase over what was spent in 1996, are a gamble by the drug industry to persuade patients to switch drugs or, in some cases, begin medical treatments. Accordingly, categories where competition is the greatest – such as ….. Independent, The (London, England)/Financial Times – March 6, 1998 THE INDEPENDENT: BUSINESS: ZENECA STANDS UP FOR INDEPENDENCE ZENECA, the third-largest drugs group in the UK, said yesterday it was determined to maintain its independence and had not entered into any merger or takeover talks with rivals. Sir David Barnes, Zeneca’s chief executive, said that any competitor would have to be prepared to pay a substantial premium for control of Zeneca. His comments come in response to intense speculation surrounding Zeneca’s future after merger talks between Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline ….. (FL) – January 28, 1998 PROTECTING YOUR CHILD< NEW AILMENTS ARE REPLACING THE ONES SCIENCE HAS MANAGED TO ERADICATE. Despite the fact that diseases such as polio, diphtheria and measles, which once afflicted millions of children, have been virtually wiped out, certain health threats to kids are on the rise. Here are some current threats, with information on how to protect your children from them. Drug-resistant infections It’s becoming more difficult for doctors to treat children with illnesses such as ear infections, sinusitis and pneumonia, because some of the bacteria that ….. Financial Times (London, England) – January 28, 1998 Companies and Finance: UK: Zeneca growth in earnings to beat 15% target Chemicals, Speciality. Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals. The strength of sterling will depress 1997 profits from Zeneca, the UK’s third largest drug company. In its year-end trading statement yesterday, the company said that profits from its agrochemicals division would be ’slightly below’ those for 1996 ‘with adverse movements in exchange rates offsetting a strong underlying performance’. But analysts said the effect of ….