Stanford/Packard Study to Test Whether Infant Rash Cream Prevents Asthma

[Sheri Nakken]

NO IT WILL NOT PREVENT asthma

As we KNOW, the suppression of eczema by steroid creams LEADS TO ASTHMA in
many children.
And suppression by anything else also would act the same
Grief and agony - they WILL CAUSE ASTHMA in many of these TEST SUBJECTS

Oh man...........they won't quit until all children are damaged.

Sheri Nakken, RN, MA, Classical Homeopath
http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/vaccine.htm

******
Young Volunteers Needed for Stanford/Packard Study to Test Whether Infant
Rash Cream Prevents Asthma
STANFORD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)----Itchy red spots on a baby's skin often
foretell a worse fate. Asthma later develops in approximately 50 percent of
children who have a sibling with eczema or asthma and who, in their early
years, have dry-skin rashes known as eczema or atopic dermatitis.

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and 27 other
institutions across the country are studying whether youngsters who receive
prompt, consistent and long-term eczema treatment with a steroid-free cream
will be less likely to develop the wheezing that signals the onset of asthma.

"The theory is that inflammation in the skin might make you more sensitive
to inflammation in the lungs," said Alfred Lane, MD, professor of
dermatology and of pediatrics and director of pediatric dermatology at
Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

There's some scientific evidence to support that idea. Mice primed for
allergic skin reactions are also susceptible to an asthmatic lung reaction,
Lane noted. But the question remains: if you block the rash, will you also
block the wheeze?

In eczema, certain immune cells overreact to harmless substances that come
in contact with the skin. Those are the same cells that overreact in the
lungs of a person with asthma. "In both asthma and eczema the immune system
is too excited, so the goal is to calm it down," Lane said.

Elidel, a steroid-free prescription cream containing pimecrolimus, prevents
the excessive immune response that causes eczema, and researchers theorize
that perhaps it can do the same for asthma.

To study whether the risk of getting asthma can be reduced in children
whose eczema has been pacified at a very young age, the researchers are
recruiting children between the ages of 3 months and 18 months who have
eczema and whose mothers, fathers or siblings have eczema or asthma.

The volunteers' eczema must have been diagnosed in the previous three
months. "We want them right when they first develop it," said Lane. "The
idea is the earlier you can improve their skin, the better their outcome
will be."

Study participants will be given either Elidel cream or a placebo cream to
treat their eczema, and neither they nor their doctors will know which they
are using. If the rash remains after a few days of treatment with the
cream, all patients may then apply Cutivate, a cream containing a synthetic
steroid that also relieves the skin condition.

"This is the standard treatment we would use for children with eczema,"
Lane said, "but it is a little more aggressive because we follow them more
closely. And they get free medications -- so they are more likely to use
them."

In addition to six years of free medication, the volunteer's parents
receive a Palm Pilot on which to record their child's skin condition and
treatment.

Usually, Lane said, eczema gets better after 18 months of age, but asthma
can develop years later. So the researchers will follow the volunteers for
six years to see how many Elidel users start to wheeze compared with those
treated only with Cutivate.

Sponsored by Novartis, the maker of Elidel, the study has an additional
goal: to gain approval from the Food and Drug Administration to use Elidel
in 3- to 18-month-old patients. The cream is already approved for use in
patients ages 2 and up and is also routinely prescribed for younger
children with eczema despite lacking FDA approval.

As in many clinical trials, Lane said, participants are doing better than
patients who aren't part of the study. "The parents are motivated to give
their kids better skin care," he explained. "They are applying moisturizers
and medications and using the Palm Pilot, so most of the kids are doing
really well."

Those interested in the study may call 650-725-4302 or e-mail the study
coordinator at DermStudies@yahoo.com. Information is also available at
www.atopicmarchstudy.com.

Stanford University Medical Center integrates research, medical education
and patient care at its three institutions -- Stanford University School of
Medicine, Stanford Hospital & Clinics and Lucile Packard Children's
Hospital at Stanford. For more information, please visit the Web site of
the medical center's Office of Communication & Public Affairs at
http://mednews.stanford.edu.

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford is a 264-bed hospital
devoted to the care of children and expectant mothers. Providing pediatric
and obstetric medical and surgical services and associated with Stanford
School of Medicine, LPCH offers patients locally, regionally and nationally
the full range of health-care programs and services -- from preventive and
routine care to the diagnosis and treatment of serious illness and injury.
To learn more about Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, please visit our
Web site at http://www.lpch.org.

Stanford University Medical Center Katharine Miller, 650-725-5371 (Print
Media) ksmiller@stanford.edu Robert Dicks, 650-487-8364 (Broadcast Media)
rdicks@stanfordmed.org
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