Harvard Health Content API

The number of Americans with asthma increased 12% between 2001 and 2009, a new report says. Now about 25 million Americans have the disease. The U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention released the report. It says the increase was especially sharp among black children. Their asthma rate jumped almost 50%. Now about 17% of U.S. black children have asthma. That’s the highest for any racial or ethnic group. Drugs to treat the disease are available. But still 50% of those with asthma have severe attacks. And only 1 out of 9 people without health insurance can afford to buy medicine, the report says. Health officials don’t know why rates are rising. But the report listed steps that may help. These include laws to prevent indoor smoking, education on how to avoid asthma triggers and more use of appropriate medicines. HealthDay News wrote about the report May 3.

Many U.S. mothers give their babies herbal teas or supplements, a new study finds. The study was based on a survey of 2,600 mothers. About 9% said they gave such supplements to their infants. The study included a higher percentage of white mothers than the country’s population. Researchers estimated that the true proportion of babies getting these products is 3% to 10%. Supplements were used most often for colic. These included chamomile tea and gripe water. Products also were used for fussiness, stomach problems and other conditions. The authors said there is a potential for harm in these products. The United States has little regulation of their quality or safety. The journal Pediatrics published the study. The Associated Press wrote about it May 2.

An older, cheaper drug helps a serious eye disease just as much as a newer, more costly drug, a study released this week says. The research compared two injectable drugs for treating wet macular degeneration. This disease gets worse quickly and can lead to blindness. The drugs are injected directly into the eye. The study included 1,200 people. They were randomly divided into 4 groups. One group received a monthly shot of ranibizumab (Lucentis). A second group got this drug, which costs $2,000 a shot, as needed. The other two groups were given bevacizumab (Avastin), which costs $50 a shot. One group got the drug once a month. The other group got it as needed. A year later, people who got their shots once a month had similar gains in vision, no matter which drug they received. And as-needed Lucentis preserved vision nearly as well as monthly Avastin or monthly Lucentis.