Hoping to provide relief to asthma sufferers -- more than 12 million in the United States alone -- a new research center at the University of California, Davis, will explore nontraditional treatments for asthma and allergies. The Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research in Asthma and Allergy was funded this week through a four-year, cooperative agreement between UC Davis and the Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. It will draw upon research strengths in UC Davis' nutrition department and School of Medicine and Medical Center. "Recent surveys have shown that more than one-third of the health expenses in the United States go toward nontraditional treatments, ranging from acupuncture to nutritional and herbal supplements," said Robert Hackman, executive director of the new center and an authority on alternative medicine and nutrition. "The goal of this center is to determine which of those complementary and alternative therapies may be beneficial in treating asthma and allergy, and to find out why they are effective." "Asthma is one of the most prevalent diseases in the United States, resulting in more absenteeism from school, an alarming rise in asthma-related deaths and $4.6 billion in health-care costs annually," said Hackman. Co-directors of the new center are Dr. Eric Gershwin, a world-renowned authority on asthma and allergy and a professor of internal medicine, and Judith Stern, an international expert in and professor of nutrition and internal medicine. The center's first year of activities will focus on surveys of health-care providers and asthma sufferers to identify which complementary and alternative therapies are being used. During the remaining three years, health practitioners will study the most promising alternative treatments. Those practitioners will work with campus researchers to study why -- functionally and at the molecular level -- such therapies may be successful. The center also will establish an Internet and telephone communication network to provide health professionals and the general public with quick access to information about the center's activities and resources. As one of eight new specialty centers established by NIH to study various aspects of alternative medicine, the UC Davis center will receive $899,021 during the next four years. The other specialty centers will focus on pain, stroke and neurological conditions, women's health, cancer, general medical conditions, addictions, HIV/AIDS and aging.