HealthTalk Education Network Release: Hear The Latest About New Treatments For Allergic Asthma And What They Mean To You From Noted Expert Aidan Long M.D., Harvard Medical School & Massachusetts General Hospital

SEATTLE, Oct. 21 /PRNewswire/ --

What: HealthTalk presents a free education forum entitled, “Your Next Breath...Advances in Asthma” will provide sufferers of moderate- to-severe asthma and caregivers an opportunity to ask questions and discuss new advancements in the treatment of allergic asthma with a panel of experts, including Aidan Long, M.D. Why: Many adults living with asthma today are so fearful of a severe asthma attack that they significantly restrict their own daily activities and seriously alter their lifestyles. To avoid the traumatizing experiences of being treated for a severe attack in a hospital emergency department or an intensive care unit, asthmatics often impose limits on their physical activity that can result in isolation from friends and family, and even forgo vacations that require extensive travel to be near familiar emergency rooms. Allergic asthma is an immune response resulting in the constriction of the airways, often triggered by an allergen, such as mold or dust mites, or when the immune system is challenged by viral disease, such as the common cold or flu. Many asthmatics medicate themselves with over-the-counter remedies or prescribed short acting reliever medications that open the passages to the lungs but do not address the underlying inflammation of the airways. Recent scientific progress has enabled us to understand allergic asthma on a molecular level. Medical research has now identified the important role of an antibody called IgE in triggering the allergic cascade. New medications have been developed that prevent IgE antibodies from functioning, thereby blocking the allergic response at its source, and can offer many patients a preventative therapy for severe asthma episodes. Panelists: * Aidan Long, M.D., Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital * Elaine Carter, RN, BSN, Partners Asthma Center * Local Area Patient Advocate When: Tuesday, October 26, 2004 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Refreshments and Walk-in Registration begin at 6:00 p.m. Where: The Westin Waltham-Boston 70 Third Avenue Waltham, MA 02451 Free Parking How To Attend: * In person To Register: Space is limited, so please register now. Call toll-free 1-888-807-4345 or Log onto http://www.healthtalk.com/MAnews Produced By: HealthTalk Education Network(R) Support: Through an unrestricted educational grant from Genentech/Novartis. Media Inquiries: Patrick Aysseh, 917-361-7972, patricka@healthtalk.com Online Information: http://www.healthtalk.com/asthma

HealthTalk Education Network

CONTACT: Patrick Aysseh of HealthTalk Education Network,+1-917-361-7972, patricka@healthtalk.com