http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress provides the latest news from National Jewish Health Imagine what Paula Spurlock must have been going through. Shortly after having a hip replaced in 2011, the trouble started. "I had horrible itching, really bad migraines and intense pain throughout my body," she said. "I couldn't take it. Every single thing in me itched." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-blood-allergies-implant-surgery.html Medical research Wed, 15 May 2013 00:00:02 EST news287774139 Aluminum salts, or alum, have been injected into billions of people as an adjuvant to make vaccines more effective. No one knows, however, how they boost the immune response. In the March 19, 2013, issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences researchers at National Jewish Health continue unraveling the mystery of adjuvants with a report that host DNA coats the alum adjuvant and induces two crucial cells to interact twice as long during the initial stimulation of the adaptive immune system. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-vaccine-adjuvant-host-dna-boost.html Medical research Fri, 05 Apr 2013 17:17:07 EST news284400965 There may be different opinions about the causes of climate change, but experts say there is no denying its existence—and the effects are nothing to sneeze at. Researchers say global warming is leading to larger plants, earlier and more robust pollination and, as a result, worsening allergies. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-temperatures-carbon-dioxide-boosting-pollen.html Immunology Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:47:04 EST news283423584 (Medical Xpress)—In the first study of its kind, researchers have determined that teens who are homeschooled benefit from healthier sleep habits than those who go to most private and public schools. The findings provide additional evidence of teens' altered biological clocks and support an argument for starting traditional high school later in the morning. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-homeschool-students-high-school.html Health Thu, 07 Mar 2013 07:06:43 EST news281862390 Dennis Voelker, PhD, professor of medicine at National Jewish Health, has been awarded a U.S. patent (#8,367,643) for various lipids and related compounds that can inhibit inflammation and infection in the lungs, especially those caused by influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Over the past several years, Dr. Voelker has published several scientific papers describing a naturally occurring lipid in the lungs, POPG (palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylglycerol), that reduces inflammation and inhibits infection by the influenza virus and RSV. The patent covers POPG and other naturally occurring lipids in the lungs as well as related anionic lipids. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-antiviral-lipid-patent-lipids-lung.html Medical research Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:19:38 EST news281704768 Chronic illness takes a significant toll on children, but the psychological toll can often go overlooked. Children with chronic illness are twice as likely to have more emotional or behavioral challenges in comparison to healthy children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-child-cope-chronic-medical-condition.html Health Fri, 01 Mar 2013 08:50:03 EST news281347316 In an effort to protect the environment and save on energy costs, we are in the midst of a "green" home boom in this country. While that may bode well from an energy-efficiency standpoint, the trend certainly doesn't have everyone breathing easier. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-green-homes-money-air-pollution.html Health Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:52:41 EST news280673555 Plant-based diets have received much attention recently, with more celebrities making the change, and countless books touting their benefits.  Recent research has shown that plant-based diets are associated with lower incidence of stroke, heart attack and many forms of cancer as well as increased life expectancy and fertility. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-plant-based-diets-benefits-disease-medication.html Health Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:30:07 EST news280656878 Tall, thin women face a greater risk of infection with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM), cousins of the organism that causes tuberculosis, according to researchers at National Jewish Health. Women with NTM infections also showed a weakened immune response associated with their fat cells, in a paper published in the Jan. 15, 2013, issue of The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-tall-thin-great-lung-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 23 Jan 2013 16:16:15 EST news278180161 In an effort to protect the environment and save on energy costs, we are in the midst of a "green" home boom in this country. Between remodeling older houses and building new ones, it's estimated that millions of American homes will get a lot greener in the next decade.  While that may bode well from an energy-efficiency standpoint, the trend certainly doesn't have everyone breathing easier. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-energy-efficient-homes-air-pollution-indoors.html Health Wed, 16 Jan 2013 09:31:02 EST news277550991 New recommendations from a task force of allergy experts advise people with an egg allergy to get a flu vaccine, and not to delay with allergy testing before the vaccine. Patients had previously been cautioned about vaccination because of concerns about adverse reactions to egg protein in the vaccine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-advice-egg-allergic-patients-flu-vaccine.html Immunology Tue, 15 Jan 2013 06:50:02 EST news277454145 Of all foods, peanuts are the most frequent cause of life-threatening and fatal allergic reactions. New research at National Jewish Health provides additional support for a strategy to reduce the severity of reactions to peanut— repeatedly consuming small amounts of the very food that causes those reactions in the first place, a practice called immunotherapy. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-immunotherapy-allergic-patients-sensitivity-peanuts.html Immunology Thu, 10 Jan 2013 13:47:37 EST news277048049 (Medical Xpress)—The holidays can be a stressful time for parents of the six million children in the United States with food allergies.  With so many parties and gifts involving food, parents may worry that their children will come into contact with the very allergens they are so vigilant about avoiding year round.   http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-kids-food-allergies.html Immunology Thu, 27 Dec 2012 16:00:02 EST news275845857 Immune globulin replacement began decades ago as a treatment for patients who could not make their own protective antibodies, but has proven to have much broader benefits than originally expected. With new uses regularly being discovered for this limited and expensive resource, including as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease, now is the time to discover exactly how intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) treatments work, and to engineer a protein that can provide similar benefits, writes Erwin Gelfand, MD, chair of pediatrics at National Jewish Health in the November 22, 2012, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-immune-globulin-therapy.html Immunology Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:00:17 EST news272739356 Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered a novel target for the treatment of food allergies. Erwin Gelfand, MD, and his colleagues report in the October 2012 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that levels of the enzyme Pim 1 kinase rise in the small intestines of peanut-allergic mice. Inhibiting activity of Pim 1 markedly reduced the allergic response to peanuts. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-food-allergy-treatment.html Immunology Thu, 01 Nov 2012 13:39:50 EST news270995977