What causes asthma complications?   Reviewed by Nicole Galan and Karen Gill, MD Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs and respiratory system. It causes inflammation of the airways, which can make it hard to breathe. Asthma can present at any age. Symptoms can sometimes appear in infancy, while other people do not develop the condition until adulthood. The potential triggers of asthma can vary from person to person. Some people get asthma symptoms after having a cold or respiratory illness. The condition can also develop after exposure to certain chemicals or substances. Asthma can vary in its severity too. Some people experience only mild symptoms, such as coughing or wheezing when they exercise. Others have more severe symptoms that can cause difficulty breathing, lead to frequent hospitalizations, and potentially even be life-threatening. An asthma attack occurs when a person's asthma symptoms suddenly worsen. Asthma can cause severe comp...

24 Children Get Free Heart Surgery In Enugu Channels Television Twenty-four children with congenital heart diseases have benefitted from the Open Heart Surgery program of the University Of Nigeria, Nsukka Teaching Hospital Ituku/Ozalla. The free surgery was done in collaboration with a team of doctors from India, who extended their charity works to Nigeria, through their project tagged: The Gift Of Life. The delegation, however, expressed worry over the size of the hospital facility and promised to partner with the hospital to improve its overall quality and efficiency. On its part, the hospital management said it was happy about the opportunity not just to perform more surgeries but the opportunity for capacity building. The Chief Medical Director (UNTH), Dr Chirs Amah, said, “We’re building capacity for the staff of the hospital because it’s not just about coming to do surgery. “What is even more important is the exchange of skills, knowledge and all that. We’ve ...

How parenting affects antisocial behaviors in children by Medical Xpress Less parental warmth and more harshness in the home environment affect how aggressive children become and whether they lack empathy and a moral compass, a set of characteristics known as callous-unemotional (CU) traits, according to findings from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University. The work was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. In a study of 227 identical twin pairs lead by Penn psychologist Rebecca Waller, the research team analyzed small differences in the parenting that each twin experienced to determine whether these differences predicted the likelihood of antisocial behaviors emerging. They learned that the twin who experienced stricter or harsher treatment and less emotional warmth from parents had a greater chance of showing aggression and CU traits. "Some of the early work on callous-...