Health First Research

Despite the fact that chiropractic is not a therapy for asthma, per se, recent research published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research recorded the results experienced by 81 children with asthma who were given chiropractic adjustments. The two-month study reported that those under care experienced a 45% decrease in the number of “attacks” and that 31% of the subjects voluntarily decided to decrease their medication.

Even though chiropractic care may be able to help those who already have asthma, public health researcher Julie Von Behren, of Northern California Cancer Center in Berkeley, and colleagues found that being overweight, especially around the middle, may increase a woman’s risk for developing asthma.

In the study women who were overweight or obese were much more apt to have asthma than women at a healthy weight, but regardless of a woman’s weight, a large waist size, i.e., more than 34 inches, also suggested increased risk for asthma, Von Behren and colleagues report in the medical journal Thorax.

In addition, obesity may make asthma symptoms more severe, according to Von Behren, and make urgent medical visits and hospital admission due to asthma more likely. “These findings are particularly troubling,” Von Behren and colleagues say, given that the majority of American adults are now overweight or obese.

For more on this valuable study and sources, go to reuters.com

Technorati Tags: athsma, chiropractic, health research, obesity, overweight

An experimental vaginal gel has shown some promise in preventing infection from the AIDS virus — the first study to offer hope that a microbicide may soon join the medical arsenal in the international battle against HIV, scientists announced Monday. The multi-country study suggests a gel made by Massachusetts-based Indevus Pharmaceuticals Inc. Scientists have been trying to develop gels and other microbicides for women to use as protection in parts of the world where their partners may refuse to use condoms. “This is the first study that now shows we have a promising candidate,” said Salim Abdool Karim, the South African researcher who presented the results. About 3,100 women participated in the study, which was designed mainly to test whether it was safe. One-quarter of them used the Indevus gel, which is supposed to block the AIDS virus from attaching to certain white blood cells. The rest were given a placebo gel, or no gel at all. The study was done in South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the United States, and was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Researchers found that women who used the Indevus-made gel had a 30 percent lower rate of HIV infection than the other women in the study. Such a study of the Indevus gel, involving 9,400 African women, is to conclude in August.

Mike Stobbe

AP

Technorati Tags: AIDS, health research, women\\\\\\\'s health