Inhaled fumes from microwave popcorn may have caused a man's rare, deadly lung disease, a leading lung expert says. The expert is Cecile Rose, MD, MPH, head of the division of environmental and occupational health sciences at National Jewish Medical and Research Center and associate professor of pulmonary medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Rose reported the case in a July 18 letter to the FDA, the CDC, the EPA, and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. None of these agencies has yet issued a public health alert. The letter became public when published on The Pump Handle web site, a public health blog. Join discussion...

New research indicates that children who receive antibiotics before their first birthday are significantly more likely to develop asthma by age 7. The study, published in the June issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), reports that children receiving antibiotics in the first year of life were at greater risk for developing asthma by age 7 than those not receiving antibiotics. The risk for asthma doubled in children receiving antibiotics for Join discussion...

The use of antibiotics in the first year of life is associated with an increased risk for asthma at age 7, a new study has found, and the reason may be that antibiotics destroy not only disease-causing microbes, but also those that are helpful to the developing immune system. Antibiotic use had a greater impact on children who would otherwise be considered at lower risk — children who lived in rural areas and those whose mothers did not have asthma — than on those who were already at increas Join discussion...

A recent article in the Journal of Emergency Medicine tells the story of a 20-year-old kid from Portland, Oregon that extracted the active ingredient, dextromethorphan, from some cough syrup and tried to get high with it. Thanks to the doctors that treated him, their patient did not earn a Darwin Award. Case reports written by doctors are often far more exciting than an episode of House or any other hospital drama. They tend to include a lot of fun facts Join discussion...

British scientists say they have found a gene that could better predict the development of childhood asthma. The scientists, from the National Heart and Lung Institute, said their study of more than 2,000 children uncovered a DNA sequence that has "a striking effect" on the risk of asthma and may help explain why the chronic illness, which affects about 1 million British children, is becoming more prevalent in the country, The Telegraph reported. Join discussion...