weather and asthma

August 11th, 2008 * Comments(0)
By Jane Elliott
Health reporter, BBC News

It has long been recognised that the weather and health are linked.
We know that when the weather changes we are more vulnerable to colds and sniffles, or headaches.
And the phrase “under the weather” has even become part of our language.
But now scientists are starting to harness nature’s warning signals to protect the vulnerable, because more serious conditions are also affected by the weather.
Asthma is one. One stormy day in the summer of 2002, more than 100 extra people went to hospital in the UK with asthma symptoms compared to a normal day.
Heart attacks and strokes also increase a few days after a fall in temperature, because cold causes stress to the vascular system.
The lung disease chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in which the bronchial tubes are damaged making it harder to breathe, is also affected by the weather.
There are around 900,000 people with COPD in England, and each year there are 100,000 COPD-related hospital admissions.
Caring for COPD patients is estimated to cost England’s NHS about £1bn annually.
But a new service, launched by the Met Office in November last year, is already claiming success in keeping people well.
Patients alerted
More than 8,000 patients in 189 practices across the UK have now signed up to use the ‘Healthy Outlook COPD Forecast Alert’ at a cost of just £18 per patient.
And the latest statistics show that there has been a 21% reduction in hospital admissions among those using the service, compared with the previous winter.
In practices not using the scheme, the fall was just 3%.
The head of the Met Office forecasting team, Wayne Elliott, said that the service was “unique” and that this year they are hoping to get even more medical practices on board.
“The patients love it. We give them a pack - developed with healthcare professionals - which gives them quite a lot of information about what their condition is about and what they can do about it.
“We remind them about the importance of keeping warm, the temperature to keep their room at, exercising, trying to avoid the low temperatures and seeking medical advice at an early stage.
“With a small adjustment to their lives in the run up to the cold weather, they can significantly reduce the likelihood of their getting poorly.
“It helps the patients, meaning they do not spend time going in and out of hospital,” he said.
Impressive results
Dr David Thomas, a GP whose practice in Aberdare, South Wales, uses the service, said he had been impressed with results.
“Overall it has been fairly successful and patients are hoping it will keep going.
“The patients last year were contacted two or three times.
“This has helped the practice as well as the patients. The patients are aware there is a three-week period, after the cold snap, when they are at most risk and are more vigilant.
“We are more vigilant too and we know we may expect more patients.”
Mr Elliott said that, as well as expanding the COPD service, the Met Office is looking into other areas of health where their skills can be useful.
“We are thinking of starting a register of weather and ailments, because a lot of it so far has been anecdotal and in the distant past was perhaps dismissed by some parts of the medical profession.
“We are looking at asthma, mental health, cardiovascular disease strokes and angina, which are all affected by the weather.”
There is a plan to work with Asthma UK to try and deliver a warning system to asthma and hay fever sufferers, although Mr Elliott warned this was some way off.
But he said that, although the weather could be linked to certain conditions, if they could not help those who were vulnerable the information would be of little use.
“If you are at risk of having a heart attack, is there something that can be done following an alert from the Met Office to stop you having one - that’s an important question?
“If there is nothing that can be done to prevent it then it is probably better for the Met Office to stay out of it. If there is, then we may have a part to play.”
 

“This is a question which I regularly receive from people with breathing difficulties. My answer is that weather is a trigger only when you chronically hyperventilate. Correcting breathing volume using the Buteyko Clinic Method  will naturally relax airways and blood vessels and will enhance the delivery of oxygen from red blood cells”.

Contact Patrick McKeown

August 10th, 2008 * Comments(0)

Buteyko clinic
The Buteyko Clinic site features ask practitioner a question, videos, DVD, worldwide clinics, practitioner training information and online support. Also included is charts to monitor progress.

Patrick McKeown’s clinics in Ireland can be found by visiting www.asthmacare.ie or www.buteyko.ie

Ireland Intl: +353 91 756229

UK: 0800 376 8361 or  01 789 298 290

Northern Ireland: 0800 376 8361

Choose a practitioner wisely;

August 10th, 2008 * Comments(0)

                                           Appendix 5 of the revised edition of Close Your Mouth
There are a number of choices available to learn how to correct your breathing. The first is this book, which describes exercises in as much detail as permitted by the written word. The second is the Close Your Mouth CD, which is an audio of myself teaching breathing exercises to a group of patients. Thirdly is the Close Your Mouth DVD, which provides exact instruction of myself teaching the AsthmaCare programme. The DVD is as close to attending an AsthmaCare clinic as you can get without actually being there. Fourthly is to attend a good practitioner.
There is no doubt that a well trained and experienced practitioner is the best way to go.  A good practitioner will be able to motivate you, tailor exercises to your needs, suggest ways to incorporate correct breathing into your way of life, will provide group support and exchange of information. As in all walks of life, the standards of practitioners vary widely. Some practitioners teach the Buteyko Method as an add-on to a string of therapies that they already provide. The Buteyko Method can be misleading as it seems simple, but is complex at the same time. In my opinion it is not possible to excel in a number of different therapies. This is a case of being a “jack of all trades but master of none.”
My advice is to choose a practitioner who is well trained, committed and solely teaches the Buteyko Method.
The training course that practitioners attend also vary widely. At the time of writing, many practitioners attend a four day theory course provided by a UK based association. This is not at all sufficient. Not only are the practitioner trainers relatively inexperienced themselves, they have also changed the method and expect new practitioners to learn it without observing it being taught to patients. (theoretical course only) I know from my own experience that the only way to learn to teach the Buteyko Method is to immerse yourself totally by devoting all your time, and to watch it being taught by an experienced and well trained practitioner to as many patients as possible.
 

On the other hand, there are Buteyko Practitioner training courses that are to a very high standard. These include those provided by the Buteyko Clinic and BIBH. If your practitioner is not Buteyko Clinic or BIBH trained, the chances are that they have attended a two or four day course of theory. This is a great pity.
 If you wish to seek a suitable practitioner in your area, please refer to the Buteyko Clinic website or contact me via email. (details on the website)

International AsthmaCare websites

August 10th, 2008 * Comments(0)

International clinic Websites                                          appendix 6

Worldwide www.SolveAsthma.com 

Canada www.AsthmaCare.ca

US  www.AsthmaCare.us

Italy www.ButeykoClinic.it

Ireland: www.AsthmaCare.ie

UK www.AsthmaCare.org.uk

Scotland www.AsthmaCareScotland.co.uk

Denmark  www.AstmaCare.dk/

Finland www.Astmapysakki.fi/

Hungary www.Buteyko.hu

Malta www.Buteyko.mt

Buteyko research results

August 10th, 2008 * Comments(0)

Buteyko Research Results                                        Appendix 3 of Close Your Mouth

Six studies have been conducted to investigate the efficacy of the Buteyko Breathing Method for asthma in the Western world. Prior to this, several trials took place in the former USSR substantiating the method, leading to its incorporation in Soviet medical doctrine.

Please find a summary of trial results below; (Original papers and links can be found from www.solveasthma.com) 

1. Respiratory Journal; 2008 May;102(5):726-32. Epub 2008 Jan 31.
A randomized controlled trial of the Buteyko technique as an adjunct to conventional management of asthma.

University of Calgary, Canada. Cowie RL, Conley DP, Underwood MF, Reader PG

At six month follow up the Buteyko group had;

 Improved asthma control from 40% to 79% 
39% of patients decreased inhaled corticosteroids
21% eliminated inhaled corticosteroids
 
 

 

 

2             Double blind randomised controlled trial of two different breathing techniques in the management of asthma                       Thorax 2006;61:651-656

 

(Slader et al, 2006)

 

At week 28:

Reliever medication decreased by 86%

Inhaled Coticosteroids decreased by 50%

 

 

 

3. The New Zealand medical Journal. Vol 119 No 1234 ISSN 1175 8716
NZMJ 19 May 2006, Vol 119 No 1234                        (McHugh et al, 2006)
Buteyko breathing technique and asthma in children: a case series

Bronchodilators use at 3 months: decrease 66%
Inhaled steroids use at 3 months: decrease 41%

 

 

 

4. The New Zealand Medical Journal, Vol 116 No 1187 ISSN 1175 8716

NZMJ 12 December 2003, Vol 116 No 1187               (McHugh et al, 2003)
Buteyko Breathing Technique (BBT) for asthma: an effective intervention

Buteyko group Control group
Bronchodilators use at 6 months: decrease 85% decrease 37%
Inhaled steroids use at 6 months: decrease 50% no change

“Conclusions: BBT is a safe and efficacious asthma management technique. BBT has clinical and potential pharmaco-economic benefits that merit further study”.

 

5) Journal Asthma 2000;37(7):557-64.

A clinical trial of the Buteyko Breathing Technique in asthma as taught by a video. Opat Aj, Cohen MM, Bailey Mj, Abramson Mj.

“Our results demonstrated a significant improvement in quality of life among those assigned to the BBT compared with placebo (p = 0.043), as well as a significant reduction in inhaled bronchodilator intake (p = 0.008).”

6. Medical Journal Australia  1998; 169: 575-578

Buteyko breathing techniques in asthma: a blinded randomized controlled trial. Simon D Bowler, Amanda Green and Charles A Mitchell

Buteyko group Control group
Bronchodilators use at 3 months: decrease 90% increase 9%
Inhaled steroids use at 3 months: decrease 49% No change
Symptoms score at 3 months: improvement 71% improvement 14%
 

  

  

 

All six trials have shown very positive results and highlight the effectiveness of the Buteyko method for the treatment of asthma. 

 

Is chronic hyperventilation the cause of asthma?

Doctors will tell you that asthma is caused by inflammation of the airways. When they are asked what causes inflammation, they do not know.

Judging from the trial results, which showed that on average the Buteyko group achieved a 50% reduction in the need for preventer medication within 3 – 6 months, it seems obvious that inflammation subsides when hyperventilation is addressed. After all, the purpose of preventer steroid medication is to treat inflammation! A reduction therefore in the need for preventer medication signifies that inflammation has reduced. Therefore, is it fair to surmise that chronic hyperventilation is the cause of inflammation?

Some medical doctors claim that the Buteyko method is ineffective as there was no improvement to lung function following a number of trials. The following points might help to address this concern;

1. All subjects in the Buteyko group were under medical care. Their doctors and consultants in doing their job will have brought them to a reasonably good lung function even before they commence the Buteyko Method. After all, the purpose of properly prescribed asthma medication is to improve lung function to its optimum. In this instance, it is unfair to expect significant improvements to lung function as there will be a law of diminishing returns.

2. The gold standard of measuring airway obstruction involves using a peak flow or spirometry. What is not recognized is that this measurement involves an act of hyperventilation, which causes asthmatic airways to constrict. Any asthmatic who presents themselves to hospital during an attack will only be too aware that the more they blow into the peak flow or spirometry, the more it results in coughing and wheezing. In other words, the test produces airway obstruction. In this vein, how could it be a reliable indicator?

3. The purpose of preventer medication for asthma is to improve lung function. Therefore, all things being equal, a reduction of preventer medication will cause a reduction of lung function. During each trial, preventer medication in the Buteyko Group was altered in accordance with improved asthma control. Expecting an improvement to lung function while at the same time reducing preventer medication is completely unfeasible. 

Professor Charles Mitchell was interviewed during the BBC (QED) documentary of the Buteyko Method. Regarding the Mater Hospital trials, he commented that “asthmatics feel better, they feel much better, but because their lung function did not improve they are no better”.

The Buteyko group in the Mater Hospital trials had 70% less symptoms, 90% less need for reliever medication and 50% less need for steroid medication. In other words they were able to maintain the same lung function after the trial but with better asthma control and far less need for medication. The control group on the other hand made 0% progress. It is interesting to note that this group was taught the hospital management program that is employed at the Mater Hospital in Brisbane. The reason why this group made no progress was because breathing volume did not change. The minute volume of both groups was approximately 14 liters at the start of the trial. After 3 months, the minute volume for the Buteyko and control groups was 9.6 liters and 14 liters respectively. Furthermore, there was a direct correlation between the reduction of minute volume and asthma symptoms. Those who reduced their breathing the most made best progress. This is the essence of reversing hyperventilation and the Buteyko Method and was indeed proven in the study.

Buteyko breathing Dublin

August 10th, 2008 * Comments(0)

The Buteyko method is wonderful for asthma. When correctly taught, it will reduce asthma symptoms very rapidly- far quicker and more effective than other approaches. In fact the British Thoracic Society has recenty classified the Buteyko Method as having sufficient high quality trials to warrant its effectiveness.

But are all Buteyko practitioners the same? Unfortunately, they are not. Many new Buteyko practitioners in Ireland are trained by the Buteyko Breathing Association.  Here they attend a four or five day course with ten to fifteen other new practitioners.

 The practitioner trainers are themselves inexperienced with teaching Buteyko. For example, none of them teach Buteyko on a full time basis, yet they are teaching others how to teach. Furthermore, the course has no practical application with real patients of how the breathing exercises should be delivered.

The Buteyko Method seems misleadingly simple. This might explain the relaxed approach of the BBA. (buteyko Breathing Association)  This is a great pity. The method is wonderful when taught correctly, but if you are choosing a practitioner - it is well advised to choose either a BIBH or Buteyko Clinic.

In a nut shell, the Buteyko Breathing Assoiation course is too short, has no practical demonstration and is taught by inexperienced practitioners. Dont let this turn you off doing Buteyko. The method itself is highly effective and will change the lives of any asthmatic when taught correctly.

Best wishes 

Patrick McKeown Buteyko Clinic Ireland  

 

 

 

    

  

Interesting story- Famous Indian Fish Cure

June 10th, 2008 * Comments(0)

HYDERABAD: Thousands of people jostled in Hyderabad to swallow medicine stuffed inside a live fish - a treatment believed to cure asthma and other respiratory ailments.

The Asthma medicine is a herbal formula placed inside a small fish and thrust into patient’s mouths which is celebrated as an annual event.

Since 1845, members of the Bathini Goud family have been performing the closely guarded medicinal ritual.

Patients have to buy a two-inch-long Murrel fish, and swallow it live after Bathinis stuff their secret herbal mixture inside its mouth.

The fish helps to clear the patient’s oesophagus as it makes its way down to the stomach, and later releases the medicine. It survives for about 15 minutes inside the body, and clears phlegm in the lungs as it flaps about.

The patients have to take the complete course of the treatment for four years continuously to get cured fully.

“This time we are expecting many more people. Many of the patients have not come because of chillness in the weather at night but they will come tomorrow,” said B. Harinath Goud, a Fish Therapist on Saturday.

The fame and success of the treatment has attracted lots of people from all walks of life.

“Many of my relatives were cured after coming here. After hearing so much about this medicine, I decided to bring my wife along, as she is an asthma patient. There is no permanent cure for asthma in allopathic so I decided to give this traditional technique a chance,” said Aseem Kumar Ojha, a doctor by profession.

The medicine comes free, but patients have to buy the fish, which is locally called “murrel”.

The Bathinis say a saint gave the wonder cure in 1845 to Bathini Veeranna Gowd, a generous farmer, and asked him to treat all who came to him free of cost.

The medicine is distributed to patients during the auspicious Mrigasira solar phase, an astrological phenomenon that occurs once a year for two days.

 

 

Lisbon treaty- does it affect our health options?

June 06th, 2008 * Comments(0)

European consumer organizations urge Irish voters to say ‘No’ to Lisbon Treaty
 
Six non-governmental organizations (NGOs), collectively representing consumers from all 27 European Union (EU) countries, are strongly urging Irish voters to vote ‘No’ in Ireland’s upcoming referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Rather than resulting in Europe becoming “more efficient”, as the treaty’s supporters claim it would do, the NGOs are deeply concerned that a ‘Yes’ vote in Ireland on June 12 and the treaty’s subsequent enforcement by Brussels would only further worsen the EU’s growing democratic deficiencies. The supposed political and procedural efficiencies that would result from the treaty’s ratification, they argue, can only be achieved via the further compromising of democracy, personal privacy and freedom of choice - all three of which are now increasingly under threat in the EU.
 
“Italians and people from many other European nations are relying on Ireland to send a strong message to the European bureaucracy: Is it so difficult to understand that people in Europe want more of a say in their political future? A united Europe may be a positive development but it becomes meaningless and even damaging if the decision to unite is not made by the people themselves and the way to do it is determined over our heads,” says Kathleen Gordon, speaking for La Leva di Archimede. “After all, should it not be our Europe?”
 
Dr Robert Verkerk, executive director of the Alliance for Natural Health, said: “The citizens of Europe are fast realizing that the European game plan extends way beyond just a common market, but now encroaches on some of the principles democracies the world over have held most dear, especially freedom of speech and freedom of choice. One of the areas likely to be most compromised is our freedom of choice in healthcare, and particularly our freedom to choose natural or alternative approaches, including the avoidance of vaccinations for our children. We urge the people of Ireland to vote ‘no’ on June 12 - a ‘yes’ vote is little more than a slippery slope to centralized, dictatorial control from Brussels”
 
Paul Anthony Taylor, External Relations Director of the Dr. Rath Health Foundation and the campaign’s coordinator, added: “Surveys show that a majority of European citizens want referendums on the Lisbon Treaty. Nevertheless, despite the fact that citizens in France and the Netherlands had already voted ‘No’ to 95 percent of its content in 2005, European governments, including those of France and the Netherlands, have chosen to sign this treaty against the will of the people and without referendums. This is not democracy, but dictatorship, and an ominous sign of what is to come if this treaty is adopted. European citizens should have the right to control their own lives and make their own decisions about what is best for themselves and their families. A ‘No’ vote in Ireland on June 12 would therefore send a strong signal to the EU that any political system must retain the support and respect of its citizens, rather than their resentment, or else it will perish.”
 
Lutz Kliche, Chairman of the Alliance for Health, Peace and Social Justice commented: “It is truly outrageous that in an issue of such significance and long term consequences for their future, the citizens of Europe are not allowed to decide. Looking at the way the so called “reform treaty” was pushed through the German parliament and the Bundesrat (which includes state governments), two things become more than clear: the treaty is of utter importance to the power groups in Europe, and by no means are we, the people, considered to have a say in this. This gives great importance to the decision of the Irish people, them being the only ones who have to be consulted by constitution. We therefore call upon our Irish co-European citizens to reject the reform treaty as a fraudulent manoeuvre, a dirty trick, to take away basic citizen’s rights under the guise of so-called progress. This progress only serves the multinationals and their stakeholders.”
 
Scott Tips, President of the National Health Federation, stated: “Given that the Irish referendum is the only vote being held on this treaty, it is extremely important that this referendum is being held and that the desires of the citizens of Ireland be heard. It is unfortunate however that other European member states have chosen not to allow their citizens to vote on this issue and I therefore congratulate the Irish government for evidently being the most democratic state in the European Union and permitting this vote to take place.”

Zeus Information Service hopes that the Irish people will vote ‘No’ and turn the European Project into disarray. Louise McLean, its Editor, said: “A strong ‘No’ vote is threatened by Irish farmers who realise that EU legislation will severely hamper their agricultural industry. In what is termed by the EU as ‘Post-Democracy’ we will see a massive assault on our freedoms and privacy as Common Law - which has been enjoyed for centuries in the UK - is swept away. There are powerful moves through EU directives to curb our right to buy or treat ourselves with natural therapies, food supplements and alternative medicines. Little do people know that 110,000 EU laws which have quietly been transposed into UK law will be enforced after the new Lisbon Treaty is ratified and most certainly by 1st January 2009.  Something very sinister called Common Purpose has now infiltrated every institution in Europe to prepare people for membership of the European Union.”
 
The six organizations are campaigning for citizens to have the right to vote in referendums whenever significant changes to laws affecting them are made at either national or European level. The campaign, the European Referendum Initiative, is being backed by the Alliance for Health, Peace and Social Justice; the Alliance for Natural Health; the Dr. Rath Health Foundation; La Leva di Archimede; the National Health Federation; and Zeus Information Service.
 
Full details can be found at www.eu-referendum.org
 
 
 
 
 
 
CONTACTS
 
Alliance for Health, Peace and Social Justice
 
Allianz für Gesundheit, Frieden und soziale Gerechtigkeit
Stralauer Platz 33/34
D-10243
Berlin
Germany
 
Tel: +30 246479 200
Email: Info@Allianz-GFG.de
Website: http://www.agfg.de/
 
 
Alliance for Natural Health
 
Alliance for Natural Health
The Atrium
Curtis Road
Dorking
Surrey
RH4 1XA
 
Tel: +44 1306 646550
Email: info@anhcampaign.org
Website: http://www.anhcampaign.org
 
 
 
 
 
 
Dr. Rath Health Foundation
 
Dr. Rath Health Foundation
Zurich Tower
Muzenstraat 89
2511 WB The Hague
Netherlands
 
Tel: +31 70 35 38 196
Email: info@dr-rath-foundation.org
Website: http://www4.dr-rath-foundation.org/
 
 
La Leva di Archimede
 
La Leva di Archimede
Rampa Brancaleone 58
00165 Rome
Italy

Tel: +39 06 63 58 84
email: archimede@laleva.cc
Website: http://www.laleva.org
 
 
National Health Federation
 
The National Health Federation
P.O. Box 688
Monrovia
California 91017
USA
 
Tel: +1 626 357 2181
Email: contact-us@thenhf.com
Website: http://www.thenhf.com/
 
 
Zeus Information Service
 
Email: news@zeusinfoservice.com
Website: http://www.zeusinfoservice.com
 
 
EDITORS NOTES
 
Alliance for Health, Peace and Social Justice
 
The Alliance for Health, Peace and Social Justice (AGFG, according to its German initials) is a political party founded in 2005 by people from the natural health movement in Germany. We believe that the issue of health – and, especially, that of ill health – cannot be fully appreciated unless one examines it in its wider, political, context. Our name comes from our belief that we cannot achieve health for all unless we are able to build a planet of peace and social justice that is based upon a healthy relationship between mankind and nature. For this reason, our current priority focuses upon defending mankind and nature against the genetic manipulation of plants and seeds. Towards this goal, we have recently initiated a campaign for a European Referendum on GMOs.
 
Alliance for Natural Health
 
The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) is a UK-based, international, non-governmental organisation, founded in 2002, that works on behalf of consumers, doctors, health practitioners and natural product suppliers worldwide, to protect and promote natural healthcare, using ‘good science’ and ‘good law’. The ANH’s objective is to help develop an appropriate legal-scientific framework and environment for the development of sustainable approaches to healthcare. Within this setting, consumers and health professionals should be able to make informed choices about a wide range of health options, and in particular those that relate to diet, lifestyle and non-drug-based or natural therapies.
 
Dr. Rath Health Foundation
 
The Dr. Rath Health Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving human health on a global scale through research, education and the defence of patients’ rights to choose natural health therapies. The scientific discoveries of its founder, Dr. Matthias Rath, a pioneer in natural health research, offer major breakthroughs in the natural approach to heart disease, cancer and other health concerns. His vision, backed-up by his extensive research, has unleashed the potential of controlling these diseases through natural means. As a result, the Foundation has been instrumental in promoting natural health education and people’s health rights throughout the world.
 
La Leva di Archimede
 
La Leva di Archimede, an association for freedom of choice and correct information, represents natural health enthusiasts, consumers, health professionals and distributors of natural health products. La Leva was founded in 1998 and has worked to protect access to nutrition-based prevention and healing in Italy. La Leva issues occasional printed updates to its Italian supporters and provides information through its popular multi-language websites. We co-ordinate our actions with similar associations both in Europe and overseas, promoting natural healing. We believe medical reform is long overdue as profit-driven pharmaceutical control of the medical paradigm and often reckless pollution of our environment has led to reduced choice, inefficiency and widespread poor health.
 
National Health Federation
 
Established in 1955, the National Health Federation is an international consumer-education, health-freedom organization working to protect individuals’ rights to choose to consume healthy food, take supplements, and use alternative therapies without government restrictions. With consumer members all over the world, and a Board of Governors and Advisory Board containing representatives from 7 different countries, the Federation is unique as being the only consumer health-freedom organization in the world to enjoy official observer status (able to speak out for health freedom) at meetings of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the highest international body on food standards.
 
Zeus Information Service
 
Zeus Information Service came into being in February 2003. Its purpose is to help unify the Worldwide Health Freedom movement – people and organisations who believe in the value of natural health therapies and want to continue using them. Subscribers receive free Zeus News bulletins containing important articles from the global press and top websites – on Health Freedom, Alternative Medicine, Homeopathy, Pharma, Environment, GM Food, Vaccines andPolitics. The subject of health is extremely wide ranging and Zeus presents articles on a host of key subjects affecting it.
 

 

Cat allergy? read the following story of top cat trainer in Moscow

May 30th, 2008 * Comments(0)

This most famous Moscow theatre on Kutuzovsky Prospekt is unique. Since its foundation just under 20 years ago, it has continued to draw the crowds and tour the world with its scintillating repertoire of performances played by talented… cats.  Enjoying the full support of his feline troupe, its founder, Yury Kuklachev, yesterday named his successor as artistic director of the theater, a role he has held for almost 20 years. A former Moscow circus clown, Yury Kuklachev decided to branch out on his own with his own cat theatre which has enjoyed huge popularity ever since.  

 

The incredible performances of cat athletes climbing poles, jumping through hoops, balancing balls on their noses, dancing and standing on their front paws have mesmerized audiences and shown many skeptics that cats can indeed be trained. 

They have also been praised for their unusual social conscience, bringing joy to thousands of orphans who are regularly invited to their shows while the troupe also performs charity shows in children’s homes and hospitals. In 2001 Yury received the ‘hope of nations’ (nadezhda natsii) award and was awarded the honorary title of ‘academic of natural sciences’ (‘akademik estestvennykh nauk’). 

But regular fans of the cat theatre need not worry about changes in directorship since Yury is handing it over to his 32 year-old son Dmitry, who as the theatre’s leading artist, has for 17 years already been very involved in the feline acts with his shows accounting for 80 percent of the repertoire. 

“Do not be misguided by the word ‘successor’,” explained Yury Kuk­lachev at a press-conference on Tuesday. “This does not mean that I will be leaving the theatre tomorrow and stop performing…For the 17 years that Dima has worked with cats he has become a true master of his art. Often it is hard for children of celebrities to make their mark as individuals. the time has come now to formally introduce the world’s second true cat handler.” 

Dmitry is himself a graduate of the Russian Academy of Dramatic Art (GITIS). His career in the cat theatre world is all the more intriguing since he discovered at the age of 5 that he was allergic to cats. His huge desire to follow in his father’s footsteps and work in the theatre became a stimulus for him to overcome his allergy and by the age of 12 he had cured himself thanks to the Buteyko self-help breathing program. 

His work with cats has been very successful and he is the leading specialist in training cats to perform tricks on television. Well-known trainees of his include Boris, the cat in the Kitekat advertisements, Betsy, the heroine of the whiskas ads and Begemot, the black feline character starring in the serial Master and Margarita. All three are members of the cat theatre. 

Although Yury has admitted in the past that one cannot train cats as such, he maintains that one needs to find a common language with them based on love and trust through which you can begin to teach them things. 

The popular shows include Puss in boots, which involves over 30 cats climbing up thin poles at a height of 8 meters, walking on their front paws and riding on swings as well as the the olympics of boris the cat , where the well-known and beloved KiteKat figure rides skateboards, bikes and even horses. The company has toured the world, with Japan, Canada, the USA, Finland and China proving popular destinations. One of their many international awards has been the golden cup won in Paris for ‘most original theatre in the world’. 

Information 

On 30 and 31 May the cat theatre will be showing its Premiere of Ice Fantasy, put on by Dmitry Kuklachev and the film director Georgy Yungvald-Khilkevich and promises to be full of drama, magic disappearances and transformations. 

Teatr Koshek 

Address: Kutuzovsky Prospekt, 25 

Tel: 8(499)249 29 07; 8(499)249 65 70 

By Nathalie Cooper 

Higher asthma rates in first-born kids linked to pregnancy conditions: study

May 21st, 2008 * Comments(0)

TORONTO — First-born children are known to have a higher risk for developing asthma and allergies than their younger siblings, and researchers suggest part of the reason may lie in the womb. 

A study of 1,200 children on the U.K.’s Isle of Wight, followed from birth into childhood, found first-borns had higher levels of a certain immune-response substance in their umbilical cord blood than did second-born children. The substance is IgE, an antibody responsible for allergic reactions. 

“This was important because there are two different schools of thought,” lead author Dr. Wilfried Karmaus, an epidemiologist of the University of South Carolina, said in an interview. “One is considering the hygiene of the delivery of the birth is important for the immune (system) development and the other thought is that the prenatal exposure during pregnancy is important.” 

“And we could show that the immune markers (the IgE antibody) in first-born are already higher compared to second-born,” he said. “I think it’s not the hygiene, but the prenatal programming that plays a role.” 

(The hygiene hypothesis suggests that first-born children are not exposed to as many germs as their younger siblings are, so their immune 

 

Patrick McKeowns viewpoint.

 Look at chronic hyperventilation here. This affects oxygenation of all systems and organs, increases histamine levels in the blood, contributes to inflammation of the airways through cooling and dehydration affect. Mothers expecting their first child may be a little more apprehensive. This could lead to an increase of stress, which in turn increases breathing volume and thus lowering CO2 stores of the foetus.  

 

The Buteyko Method as taught in many cities throughout Ireland recognises the link between overbreathing and airway obstruction.

 

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