Groundbreaking Asthma Treatment Tested in Houston

9/11 volunteer rescue worker Alvin Pieper has asthma because of the dust at Ground Zero.

"The first two days there weren’t any masks,” Pieper said. “They say my lung capacity is 70 to 80 percent of what it should be.”

Now Pieper is part of an international study that uses a bronchoscope and thermal energy to eliminate the main reason asthma patients wheeze and sneeze.

“The smooth muscle in the airway wall is too active - it clamps down and makes breathing passages narrow,” explains Dr. William Lunn.

Using thermal energy, Dr. Lunn will reduce the amount of smooth tissue to help patients breathe easier.

“The patients are then able to take just maintenance medication, and they’re not having to take rescue inhalers,” he said. “They can have a normal life.”

Researchers believe the effects of the treatment will last three to five years. Pieper hopes it will get him off the couch and jogging again.

You can read the full story at Texas Cable News.

Posted by Craig on Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Leave a Comment | Read Comments (0) | Email This | digg it

No Comments

Leave a Comment

Register
Forgot your password?

Subscribe in a reader

Email to a Friend

Seed Newsvine

Allergy Links

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

Indoor Air Quality links

EPA's IAQ Reports
IAQ Information from the American Lung Association

Healthy Home links

University of Wisconsin: Healthy Home tool
The Lung Association: Healthy Home tool

This blog is maintained by achoo! ALLERGY & AIR Products, a leading retailer of allergy relief products including air purifiers, allergy bedding, and HEPA vacuum cleaners.

Groundbreaking Asthma Treatment Tested in Houston

Archives

Categories

Search

Allergy Links

Indoor Air Quality links

Healthy Home links