Research has suggested children who sleep on old mattresses during the first year of life are more at risk of developing breathing disorders such as asthma.

A study by The University of Auckland showed that wheezing at ages 3.5 and 7 years was more common in children who slept on a used mattress in the first year of life. Children who were treated with antibiotics or spent time at daycare in the first year of life also showed signs of breathing problems at 7 years old.

http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news/20072211-16625-2.html

Could the ability to expel worms lead to a future asthma treatment?

I find following article interesting.

"New understanding of immune system creates unexpected links in medicine
Based on experiments with worms similar to those that infest millions of children in the tropics, researchers see potential for a new way to treat asthma. Parasitic infections and asthma may cause the human immune system to react in some of the same ways, and may one day be cured by manipulating some of the same proteins, according to research published today in the journal Science....."

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http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/biowissenschaften_chemie/bericht-76133.html

Popular Asthma Inhalers Causing Deaths

Researchers from Cornell and Stanford Universities found that common asthma inhalers are causing death. The researchers studied 19 published clinical trials involving the use of long-acting beta-agonists salmeterol (trade names Serevent and Advair) and formoterol (trade name Foradil). They found that patients were "3.5 times more likely to die from asthma and 2.5 times more likely to be hospitalized, compared to those taking a placebo."
Long-acting beta-agonists are known to "promote bronchial inflammation and sensitivity without warning." Therefore, although these asthma inhalers help to relieve asthma symptoms, they can also be detrimental by causing other serious side effects

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http://lungdiseases.about.com/b/a/257100.htm

High cholesterol may contribute to asthma

Researchers suggest inflammation may be the link between both conditionsNew research suggests high cholesterol in children can increase their risk of developing asthma.A team led by Dr. Baha Al-Shawwa of the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee looked for a potential link between the two conditions because both involve inflammation.

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http://www.macleans.ca/topstories/health/article.jsp?content=20060622_154923_5488

Breathing exercises may lead to an easing of asthma symptoms

THIS STUDY: randomly assigned 57 adults with mild to moderate asthma who used an inhaler frequently to do twice-daily breathing exercises that they learned from an exercise video they watched once each day. One group learned upper-body mobility exercises and relaxation techniques, practicing about 15 minutes a day; the others focused on exercises to enhance nasal breathing and slow exhaling, for about the same amount of time.

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http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/living/health/14862419.htm