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Allergies, Author Interviews, Pets / 16.10.2025

If your asthma keeps flaring up no matter how much you clean, hidden pest allergens might be to blame. Even after extermination, tiny particles from cockroaches, dust mites, or rodents can linger in the air and trigger symptoms. Understanding the link between asthma and pest allergens, and taking the right pest control steps, can make a big difference in your home’s air quality and your breathing.

Pest Allergens, Asthma, and Dust Mite Allergy

Pest allergens are microscopic proteins found in the droppings, saliva, shed skin, or body parts of pests like cockroaches, mice, and dust mites. They’re "hidden triggers" because you might not see the insects or rodents themselves, but their allergenic particles can linger for months in carpets, HVAC filters, and soft furnishings. People with dust mite allergy are especially sensitive, since these allergens thrive in humidity and soft surfaces. What makes them so sneaky is that these lightweight, airborne allergens get stirred up every time you vacuum, walk on carpet, or turn on the air conditioning, continuously irritating the lungs and airways of anyone with asthma or allergies, especially kids. They’re not just "dust with legs." These biological fragments behave differently than environmental dust: they cling to humidity, spread easily through HVAC systems, and stay active for months. Pest allergens also build up behind walls, under appliances, and inside vents, where standard cleaning can’t reach. Even after a pest infestation has been treated by an exterminator, the allergens can remain long after the pests are gone. That’s why families often notice asthma symptoms well after extermination, it’s not reinfestation; it’s residue caused by lingering pest allergy triggers. (more…)
Author Interviews, Environmental Risks, NYU / 23.07.2025

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. George D. Thurston Professor of Medicine and Population Health NYU Grossman School of Medicine Division of Environmental Medicine NYC, NY 10010   USA MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What were some of the chemicals released by the coal-coking plant? Response: Pittsburgh has a long history as the nation's principal source of bituminous coal production and home to iron and coke industries since the late 19th century, and is also known as one of the cities with the highest levels of air pollution and most air-pollution related deaths in the US, to date. The Shenango, Inc Coke Plant was one of the significant industrial emission sources in the area before its closure in January 2016. Coal-coking plants like the Shenango plant utilizes a destructive heated distillation process called pyrolysis to volatilize and drive the impurities out of coal and produce coke, a purer product with higher carbon content for use in iron and steel production. From this process, coke plant operations are known to generate high emissions of complex air pollution mixtures into the ambient air, including particulate matter (PM), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), polycyclic organic matter (POMs), volatile compounds (VOCs), and volatilized trace metals such as arsenic, nickel, selenium, lead, and cobalt. Our study examines the changes in respiratory health in the community residing near the Shenango Coke Plant before vs. after its closure,  providing a direct quantification of the health benefits of such fossil-fuel-related air pollution reductions.  (more…)
Pulmonary Disease / 19.02.2025

Please seek immediate attention if you are experiencing severe shortness of breath or difficulty breathing.

Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that affects millions of individuals worldwide. It can cause significant discomfort and, if not managed properly, may lead to severe health complications. Fortunately, asthma can be effectively managed with the proper treatment and lifestyle adjustments. This article provides a guide on controlling asthma, including medical treatments, lifestyle modifications, and prevention strategies.

What is asthma?

Asthma is a chronic respiratory condition that causes inflammation and narrowing of the airways, making it difficult to breathe. It is triggered by various factors, including allergens, irritants, and infections, and can affect individuals of all ages. Effective asthma management involves medication and lifestyle adjustments to prevent flare-ups and control the condition. Asthma manifests in different forms, each requiring specific management strategies: ●      Allergic asthma: Triggered by allergens such as pollen, dust mites, and pet dander. ●      Non-allergic asthma: Influenced by factors like stress, infections, and weather changes. ●      Exercise-induced asthma: Occurs during physical activity, causing breathing difficulties. ●      Occupational asthma: This develops due to prolonged exposure to irritants in the workplace. ●      Childhood asthma: Affects young individuals and often improves with age. ●      Adult-onset asthma: Develops later in life and may be more persistent. ●      Brittle asthma: A rare and severe form of asthma that is difficult to control and prone to sudden, life-threatening attacks despite treatment. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, NEJM / 27.10.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Chris Brightling, NIHR Senior Investigator Department of Respiratory Sciences University of Leicester Leicester, UK MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?  Response: Risankizumab is an anti-IL23 monoclonal antibody. It is a very effective licensed therapy for plaque psoriasis. IL23 has been implicated in asthma and therefore we chose to study the effect of risankizumab in people with severe asthma. The time to first asthma worsening was earlier and the frequency of asthma worsenings was higher in those treated with risankizumab versus placebo. We found that the gene expression of key molecules involved in the response to infection were decreased in airway samples in those treated with risankizumab. It is possible that the increased asthma worsening following risankizumab was related to this suppression of anti-microbial immunity.  (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Circadian Rhythm, Occupational Health, PNAS, Pulmonary Disease, Sleep Disorders / 11.09.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Frank Scheer, PhD, MSc Professor and Director of the Medical Chronobiology Program Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders Brigham and Women’s Hospital Steve Shea, PhD Professor and Director Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: For hundreds of years, people have observed that asthma severity often worsens in the nighttime. As many as 75 percent of people with asthma—20 million people in the U.S.—report experiencing worsening asthma severity at night. One longstanding question has been to what degree the body’s internal circadian clock—as opposed to behaviors, such as sleep and physical activities—contributes to worsening of asthma severity. Our research used long term intensive monitoring throughout two circadian protocols in dim light and without time cues to carefully isolate the influence of the circadian system from the other factors that are behavioral and environmental, including sleep. (more…)
Asthma, Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Race/Ethnic Diversity / 09.05.2021

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Justin Salciccioli, MBBS, MA Research Fellow in Medicine Elliot Israel, MD Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School Pulmonary and Critical Care, Rheumatology, Medicine Brigham and Women's Hospital MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: Asthma attacks account for almost 50% of the cost of asthma care, which costs $80 billion each year in the United States. Asthma is more severe in African-American/Black and Hispanic/Latinx patients, with these groups having double the rates of attacks and hospitalizations as the general population. The PREPARE study is an ongoing national clinical trial for African American/Black and Hispanic/Latinx adults with moderate-to-severe asthma from different U.S. cities in which reporting of asthma control and asthma exacerbations was monitored entirely remotely. With the arrival of the Covid19 pandemic, several studies suggested that asthma exacerbations may have decreased during the pandemic. However, multiple reports have suggested people were avoiding health services because of the pandemic, making it difficult to tell whether exacerbations truly decreased or whether people were simply avoiding their doctors. This is the first study done to assess asthma exacerbations before and during the pandemic that is unlikely to be impacted by patient healthcare avoidance. (more…)