Apr. 6--LIMA -- When someone excels at a certain skill, it is said that it comes to them "as naturally as breathing." However, for people suffering with asthma, that expression does not always ring true. For them, breathing is not always so natural.
"Asthma has two main components: airway inflammation and airway constriction," said Steve Wiseman, a respiratory therapist and the clinical manager for the respiratory care department at Lima Memorial Health System. Both of these components can lead to attacks.
Dr. Sarat Kuchipudi practices pulmonary medicine at both Lima Memorial and St. Rita's Medical Center.
"One thing to look for when it comes to the development of asthma is if someone has a cough that's not getting better," he said. "There is shortness of breath and wheezing."
"Look for excessive coughing and chest tightness," Wiseman said. "Sometimes the symptoms come on all at once or they can come on more gradually."
It now appears that an increasing number of Ohioans are experiencing these symptoms. According to a 2009 report released by the Ohio Department of Health, almost 14 percent of Ohio adults have reported that they have had asthma symptoms at some point, and almost 1 in 10 Ohio adults currently have asthma. That prevalence has been increasing since 2000.
When it comes to treatment, there have been many new developments, including preventative medications, but one treatment has remained constant.
"The most important thing for asthma is the inhaled steroid," Kuchipudi said. "The moment you say steroid, you think, 'Oh my God!' But it is a mainstay of the treatment because asthma is an i n f l a m m a -- tion, and to take down the i n f l a m m a -- tion, you need a steroid."
Wiseman also noted that the medications are now becoming more precise in how they treat asthma.
"A lot of the drugs we used to use aren't being used or made anymore because they've developed drugs that are better at targeting the area where they need to go and causing less side effects as opposed to 15 or 16 years ago," he said.
While many health professionals have often viewed asthma as a more urban-centered disorder, new findings have put that assumption into doubt.
"Last year the Centers for Disease Control did an analysis on the national data for asthma prevalence, and for the first time, it showed that asthma is just as common in rural areas as it is in the cities," according to David Van Sickle, a medical researcher who is now directing a new asthma study out of Wisconsin.
"What we're looking to do now is use this study to help us understand more about where asthma symptoms are occurring in rural areas in the Midwest," he said. "To do that, we're actually using a device that I invented. It's a small electronic package that goes on the end of an asthma inhaler, and it has a GPS receiver inside. When someone uses their inhaler, it maps the time and location where the inhaler is used and it sends that information into our database so we can look for patterns."
The objective of the research team is to enroll 150 volunteers across a 12-state area stretching from the Dakotas to Ohio. While this is not a huge number, Van Sickle hopes it will serve as a guide for future research.
"It's mainly a hypothesisgenerating study," he said. "We're not going to have enough people to prove anything conclusively, but we're going to have enough to raise questions and help us focus our search a bit better."
By knowing the location and frequency of inhaler usage, the research team hopes
to get a glimpse into the asthma's underlying causes.
"It's going to teach us a lot about the environment as it relates to asthma symptoms, leading us to perhaps new asthma triggers and how well it's being managed overall. The goal is to capture any changes in asthma symptoms with people beginning to farm again, working with and pesticides and chemicals, as well as the dust created with the agricultural activities in these areas."
This study has already begun, but it is still in its early stages. The team plans on running the study through the summer.
"We're trying to understand what the broad symptoms are, not just the seasonal symptoms when there's a big pollen blast or during the growing season," Van Sickle said.
There is still a need for about 15 more participants. Along with word of mouth, the researchers are also working with state asthma programs to garner more participation.
"Across the Midwest, there are a ton of very well-known and well-regarded asthma programs at the state levels, and they're helping us spread the word," Van Sickle said. "Ohio has a very strong state asthma control program, one of the highlights of the country."
The knowledge that asthma researchers can gain through this and other studies can mean the difference between life and death for some.
The Department of Health report notes that there are an average of 160 asthma-related deaths in Ohio each year, many of them preventable.
"There have been cases where someone's having problems with their asthma, they don't go see their doctor, and it gets to the point where they have to come to the hospital," Wiseman said. "And it can kill people."
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