Yoga en vitamines tegen astma*
Uit een drietal studies blijkt dat yoga, vitamine D en foliumzuur belangrijk zijn om de
astma symptomen flink te kunnen verminderen. In de eerste, kleine studie werden 20 deelnemers gevolgd in de leeftijd van 20-65 jaar. Tien weken lang
volgden de deelnemers iedere week 2x 1 uur yogalessen en deden ze zelf thuis een ½ uur oefenen. Na 10 weken voelden de deelnemers zich ruim 40% beter.
In de tweede studie blijkt dat vitamine D het steeds moeilijker ademen bij astmapatiėnten kan tegengaan doordat vitamine D ontstekingen in de gladde spiercellen van de luchtwegen doet verminderen.
Uit een derde studie onder 8.000 mensen blijkt dat lage bloedwaarden
foliumzuur (< 8 ng/ml) een 40% hogere kans geeft op een piepende ademhaling, 30% meer kans geeft op markers voor een allergie, 31% meer kans op een atopie en 16% meer kans op astma dan bij goede bloedwaarden foliumzuur (>
18 ng/ml)
Yoga Helps Asthma Patients In 10 Weeks
Adults with asthma reported increased quality of life and reduced asthma symptoms after 10 weeks of yoga practice, according to research presented today at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in Seattle. The study followed 20 subjects age 20-65 who were beginners at yoga.
Subjects received one-hour yoga classes twice per week and were asked to practice an additional half-hour weekly at home, for a total of 2.5 hours per week. After initial warm-ups, deep breathing and stretching, the participants practiced yoga positions, or asanas. The goal was to hold poses during deep breathing. According to lead researcher Amy Bidwell, M.S., this replicates the stress of an oncoming asthma attack. Most previous research measured the acute effects of yoga on asthma-for example, after a single, two-hour session. This study, said Bidwell, looked at the effect of a 10-week training program.
Study participants completed St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire before and after the 10-week regimen to assess impacts on their overall health, daily life and perceived well-being. The results were impressive: participants' scores on the questionnaire improved by an average of 42.5 percent.
For Bidwell, who began practicing yoga years ago as an alternative to back surgery and now is a certified instructor, the results were dramatic but not
surprising.
"I have a number of friends with asthma," she said. "Many have side effects from taking medications such as corticosteroids. The main question was whether or not we could reduce their need for medication and improve their quality of life."
Bidwell worked closely with a physician to design and conduct the study. He had been teaching breathing techniques to his patients. Based on the study results, he now is prescribing yoga practice as well.
Further research, said Bidwell, might include a larger sample size over a longer term. A 12-month study, for example, could incorporate the effect of changing seasons on participants' symptoms. Bidwell said the current study supports the validity of yoga as a therapeutic
tool.
"Modern medicine carries many side effects," she said. "This is especially true with corticosteroids, which many asthmatics take for quick relief. Yoga is an excellent alterative because there are no side effects. It's a natural, holistic discipline that can benefit a person's body in many ways."
Source
American College of Sports Medicine
Vitamin D May Halt Lung Function Decline In Asthma And COPD
Vitamin D may slow the progressive decline in the ability to breathe that can occur in people with asthma as a result of human airway smooth muscle (HASM) proliferation, according to researchers at the University of
Pennsylvania.
The group found that calcitriol, a form of vitamin D synthesized within the body, reduced growth-factor-induced HASM proliferation in cells isolated from both persons with asthma and from persons without the disease. The proliferation is a part of process called airway remodeling, which occurs in many people with asthma, and leads to reduced lung function over time.
The researchers believe that by slowing airway remodeling, they can prevent or forestall the irreversible decline in breathing that leaves many asthmatics even more vulnerable when they suffer an asthma attack.
"Calcitriol has recently earned prominence for its anti-inflammatory effects," said Gautam Damera, Ph.D., who will present the research at the American Thoracic Society's 105th International Conference in San Diego. "But our study is the first to reveal the potent role of calcitriol in inhibiting ASM
proliferation."
The experiments were conducted with cells from 12 subjects, and the researchers compared calcitriol with dexmethasone, a corticosteroid prescribed widely for the treatment of asthma. Although, dexmethasone is also a powerful anti-inflammatory agent, the researchers found that it had little effect on HASM growth.
Dr. Damera and his colleagues found calcitriol inhibits HASM in a dose-dependent manner, with a maximum inhibitory effect of 60 percent ± 3 percent at 100nM.
As part of the University of Pennsylvania's Airway Biology Initiative, the researchers are planning a randomized control trial of calcitriol in patients with severe asthma and expect to have data from the trial in about a year's time.
With its anti-inflammatory qualities and its ability to inhibit smooth muscle proliferation, Dr. Damera said, calcitriol may become an important new therapy, used alone or in combination with already prescribed steroids, for treating steroid-resistant asthma.
Dr. Damera and his colleagues have also conducted experiments to determine the mechanism by which calcitriol retards HASM proliferation. They believe the vitamin works by inhibiting activation of distinct set of proteins responsible for cell-cycle
progression.
The investigators have also conducted experiments to determine whether calcitriol, which is currently used to treat psoriasis, could be an effective therapy for COPD. Although preliminary, their data shows that calcitriol appears to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine secretions in COPD. As with asthma, the researchers believe, calcitriol may also have the added benefit of slowing, if not stopping, the progression of airway remodeling. Others in the field believe calcitriol may also have the potential to inhibit the development and growth of several types of cancer.
Source: American Thoracic Society (ATS)
Folic Acid Treatment May Help Allergies, Asthma
Folic acid, or vitamin B9, essential for red blood cell health and long known to reduce the risk of spinal birth defects, may also suppress allergic reactions and lessen the severity of allergy and asthma symptoms, according to new research from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.
In what is believed to be the first study in humans examining the link between blood levels of folate - the naturally occurring form of folic acid - and allergies, the Hopkins scientists say results add to mounting evidence that folate can help regulate inflammation. Recent studies, including research from Hopkins, have found a link between folate levels and inflammation-mediated diseases, including heart disease. A report on the Hopkins Children's findings appears online ahead of print in the Journal of Allergy & Clinical Immunology.
Cautioning that it's far too soon to recommend folic acid supplements to prevent or treat people with asthma and allergies, the researchers emphasize that more research needs to be done to confirm their results, and to establish safe doses and risks.
Reviewing the medical records of more than 8,000 people ages 2 to 85 the investigators tracked the effect of folate levels on respiratory and allergic symptoms and on levels of IgE antibodies, immune system markers that rise in response to an allergen. People with higher blood levels of folate had fewer IgE antibodies, fewer reported allergies, less wheezing and lower likelihood of asthma, researchers report.
"Our findings are a clear indication that folic acid may indeed help regulate immune response to allergens, and may reduce allergy and asthma symptoms," says lead investigator Elizabeth Matsui, M.D. M.H.S., pediatric allergist at Hopkins Children's. "But we still need to figure out the exact mechanism behind it, and to do so we need studies that follow people receiving treatment with folic acid, before we even consider supplementation with folic acid to treat or prevent allergies and
asthma."
The current recommendation for daily dietary intake of folic acid is 400 micrograms for healthy men and non-pregnant women. Many cereals and grain products are already fortified with folate, and folate is found naturally in green, leafy vegetables, beans and nuts.
Other findings of the study:
· People with the lowest folate levels (below 8 nanograms per milliliter) had 40 percent higher risk of wheezing than people with the highest folate levels (above 18 ng/ml).
· People with the lowest folate levels had a 30 percent higher risk than those with the highest folate levels of having elevated IgE antibodies, markers of allergy predisposition.
· Those with the lowest folate levels had 31 percent higher risk of atopy (allergic symptoms) than people with the highest folate levels.
· Those with lowest folate levels had 16 percent higher risk of having asthma than people with the highest folate levels.
Blacks and Hispanics had lower blood folate levels -12 and 12.5 nanograms per milliliter, respectively - than whites (15 ng/ml), but the differences were not due to income and socio-economic status.
The Hopkins team is planning a study comparing the effects of folic acid and placebo in people with allergies and asthma.
Asthma affects more than 7 percent of adults and children in the United States, and is the most common chronic condition among children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Environmental allergies are estimated to affect 25 million Americans, according to the CDC.
Co-investigator on the study: William Matsui, M.D, of the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.
The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health.
Source:
Ekaterina Pesheva
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
(Juni
2009)
