Soy isoflavone supplement does not improve symptoms for poorly controlled asthma
2015-05-26
(Press-News.org) Although some data have suggested that supplementation with soy isoflavone may be an effective treatment for patients with poor asthma control, a randomized trial that included nearly 400 children and adults found that use of the supplement did not result in improved lung function or clinical outcomes, including asthma symptoms and episodes of poor asthma control, according to a study in the May 26 issue of JAMA. Soy isoflavones are plant (soybean) derived chemicals that have anti-oxidant effects.
Increases in asthma prevalence and severity over the last several decades are likely due at least in part to environmental factors. Diet is one environmental factor that is associated with asthma prevalence and severity. Soy isoflavone supplements are used to treat several chronic diseases, although the data supporting their use are limited. Some data suggest that supplementation with soy isoflavone may be an effective treatment for patients with poorly controlled asthma. The soy isoflavone genistein inhibits a key pathway that may contribute to asthma severity. With the increasing cost of prescription drugs for asthma, it is important to identify effective, safe, and less expensive therapies than those currently available, according to background information in the article.
Lewis J. Smith, M.D., of Northwestern University, Chicago, and colleagues randomly assigned 386 adults and children age 12 years or older with symptomatic asthma while taking a "controller" medicine (either inhaled corticosteroids and/or a leukotriene modifier) and low dietary soy intake to receive soy isoflavone supplement containing 100 mg of total isoflavones (n=193) or matching placebo (n=193) in 2 divided doses administered daily for 24 weeks. The trial was conducted at 19 adult and pediatric pulmonary and allergy centers in the American Lung Association Asthma Clinical Research Centers network.
The researchers found that average changes in pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1; a measure of lung function) over 24 weeks were not significantly different between the soy isoflavone group and the placebo group. The supplement also did not improve other aspects of asthma control, including additional measures of lung function, symptoms, quality of life, and airway and systemic inflammation.
"These findings suggest that this supplement should not be used for patients with poorly controlled asthma," the authors conclude.
INFORMATION:
(doi:10.1001/jama.2015.5024; Available pre-embargo to the media at http://media.jamanetwork.com)
Editor's Note: This study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Lung Association. Archer Daniels Midland (Decatur, Il.) provided the soy isoflavone supplement and the matching placebo. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, financial disclosures, etc.
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2015-05-26
Individually rare but collectively common intermediate-size copy number variations may be negatively associated with educational attainment, according to a study in the May 26 issue of JAMA. Copy number variations (CNVs) are regions of the genome that differ in the number of segments of DNA.
The Database of Genomic Variants catalogs approximately 2.4 million DNA CNVs. Some of them have been previously implicated as causal of a wide variety of traits and conditions. According to background information in the article large (defined as larger than 500 kb), recurrent CNVs ...
2015-05-26
In a small study in Chile that included patients with gallbladder cancer, exposure to aflatoxin (a toxin produced by mold) was associated with an increased risk of gallbladder cancer, according to a study in the May 26 issue of JAMA.
In Chile, gallbladder cancer is a leading cause of cancer death in women. Exposure to aflatoxin, a liver carcinogen, is associated with gallbladder cancer in primates. Aflatoxin contamination has been identified in Chile, including in aji rojo (red chili peppers). Aji rojo is associated with gallbladder cancer; however, the association of ...
2015-05-26
(NEW YORK -- May 26, 2015) Spouses of patients receiving hospice for three or more days more frequently reported reduced depression symptoms, compared to surviving spouses of patients who did not receive hospice, according to a study led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai published online today in JAMA Internal Medicine.
This is the first national study to examine depressive symptoms as an outcome for spouses of people with all types of serious illnesses that used hospice care, which is designed to improve quality of life as opposed to offering ...
2015-05-26
A typical characteristic of the brain of an Alzheimer sufferer is the presence of insoluble Tau protein aggregates. Scientists at VIB, KU Leuven and Janssen Pharmaceutica have demonstrated that the distribution of these aggregates through the brain is facilitated by synaptic connections between brain cells. This news is highly significant because the focus is increasingly on repairing synaptic connections as a therapeutic strategy in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. In fact, it is generally accepted that a loss of synaptic connections leads to a loss in cognitive ...
2015-05-26
Biologists from the University of Leicester have discovered that one of nature's most important pollinators - the buff-tailed bumblebee - either ascends to the status of queen or remains a lowly worker bee based on which genes are 'turned on' during its lifespan.
The paper, entitled 'Reproductive workers show queen-like gene expression in an intermediately eusocial insect, the buff-tailed bumble bee Bombus terrestris', which is published in the journal Molecular Ecology, suggests that the development of an individual bumblebee into its designated caste of male, worker ...
2015-05-26
Sperm in the first fraction of ejaculate are more numerous, move more and present better quality DNA than those lagging behind. This is the conclusion of a study led by the Ginemed fertility clinic, which confirms that while the objective of the first fraction is to fertilise the egg, the second phase is so that no sperm from any other male has a chance to fertilise it.
A study led by the Ginemed Assisted Human Reproduction Clinic analyses the advantages of using fractions of ejaculate separately in in-vitro fertilisation as a way to improve the sample of the semen.
The ...
2015-05-26
Strapped into a motion-enabled simulator and wearing 3D glasses, 36 adolescent volunteers recently experienced what it was like to "travel" through a field of virtual stars. The experiments provided new and convention-busting data about how sensory stimuli are processed by the brains of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The study, entitled "Self-motion perception in autism is compromised by visual noise but integrated optimally across multiple senses," was published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on May 4th, 2015. The authors of ...
2015-05-26
The team has completed two genomics studies on the tropical disease, a condition that is estimated to cause up to 30 million illnesses and over a quarter of a million deaths globally each year.
The first study, published in the journal Nature Genetics, suggests that the H58-strain, which is likely to have emerged in Asia approximately thirty years ago, is now rapidly spreading across Africa, where it has been introduced on several separate occasions. A key feature of this strain appears to be its ability to acquire resistance to commonly available antibiotics.
Dr Melita ...
2015-05-26
TORONTO, May 27, 2015--A good working relationship with police is essential for the smooth operation of a busy Emergency Department. Police are in and out of EDs regularly, supporting EMS, transporting patients and helping to provide a safe environment for hospital staff.
Not surprisingly, differences of opinion arise from time to time over a health care worker's duty to protect patient privacy and the police need to conduct a criminal investigation.
That's why it's essential to develop strategies to optimize communications between police and ED workers, according to ...
2015-05-26
ATHENS, GA - Over the past century, many forests have shifted from open to closed canopies. The change in forest structure could be contributing to declines in pollinator species, especially native bees, according to a new study by U.S. Forest Service scientists.
The study shows how common present-day forest conditions affect pollinators, especially bees. "Bees prefer open forests," says Jim Hanula, a research entomologist at the Southern Research Station (SRS) Insects, Diseases, and Invasive Plants research unit. "We found that total tree basal area was the best predictor ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Soy isoflavone supplement does not improve symptoms for poorly controlled asthma
