Airway valve treatment improves lung function

London: A study has found that using airway valves to treat people with emphysema can improve lung function and exercise capacity. The new treatment could provide a less invasive alternative to surgery to remove the affected part of the lung. Emphysema is a condition of the lungs that causes breathlessness, limiting patients’ ability to do even light exercise and affecting their quality of life. The condition is a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is thought to affect more than three million people in the UK.

Development of Portable Artificial Lung

Baltimore: A new partnership between the University of Maryland and Breethe, Inc. is the next step in bringing a portable artificial lung to patients with respiratory failure. The Baltimore Business Journal covered the announcement between UM Ventures, the university's commercialization office, and Breethe, Inc., founded in 2014 by Bartley Griffith, MD, professor of surgery and executive director of the Program in Lung Healing at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The backpack-size blood oxygenation machine will allow hospital-bound patients to return to their homes while using the device. Breethe, Inc., founded by a UMB School of Medicine faculty member and based at the BioPark, has been selected as the featured start-up for the March 12th Committee meeting. The company is developing the world's first wearable artificial lung and licensed its technology from UMB. Dr. Bartley Griffith, the co-founder, is a professor of surgery at UMB's School of Medicine. Dr. Griffith's clinical work focuses on coronary artery surgery, mitral and aortic valve replacement and aneurysmal disease of the thoracic aorta. He has directed more than 1,200 heart transplants and 600 lung transplants.

Healthy diet linked to lower risk of chronic lung disease

BMJ: Eating a diet rich in whole grains, polyunsaturated fats and nuts - and low in red and processed meat, refined grains and sugary drinks - is associated with a lower risk of chronic lung disease (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or COPD), finds a study published in The BMJ.

Macrolides for diffuse panbronchiolitis

Cochrane: Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB), characterised by progressive airflow limitation and recurrent respiratory tract infection (RTI), is a chronic airways disease that mainly affects people in east Asia. The prevalence of DPB in Japan is about 11 cases per 100,000 people; the prevalence outside Japan is still unknown.

Breathing test to predict asthma in young children

Maastricht University. Netherlands: Researchers at Maastricht UMC+ have developed a new breathing test that can predict the onset of asthma in young children. To date, no reliable diagnostic test could provide an accurate prediction of this lung disease in infants with chronic respiratory symptoms. It was discovered that two-thirds of these children did not develop asthma by the age of six and were often prescribed unnecessary medication. The new breathing test should prevent this.

Drug-development grants focus on sleep apnea, asthma research

University of Chicago. US: Two research teams based at the University of Chicago have received prestigious grants from the National Institutes of Health to develop novel medications to treat sleep apnea and asthma.

Pertussis

CDC. US: Pertussis, a respiratory illness commonly known as whooping cough, is a very contagious disease caused by a type of bacteria called Bordetella pertussis. These bacteria attach to the cilia (tiny, hair-like extensions) that line part of the upper respiratory system. The bacteria release toxins, which damage the cilia and cause inflammation (swelling).

Baby, we’ve come a long way in measuring lung function

University of Queensland. Australia: An international team of researchers has developed a simple, non-invasive way to measure the impact of smoking during pregnancy on babies’ lung development.

Study Links The Liquid Used In E-cigarettes To An Increased Risk Of Viral Infections

National Jewish. US: Researchers say whether in e-cigarettes the liquid contains nicotine or not, inhaling its vapor can damage epithelial cells from human airways and increase the risk of infections.

Enterovirus D68 seen in cancer, stem cell transplant patients

Fred Hutch. US: Virus behind outbreak that sickened children also caused illness in immunocompromised adults

A new asthma therapy?

Jefferson University. US: A research, led by Dr. Jeffrey Benovic, Thomas Eakins Professor and Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Jefferson, shows that a novel class of molecules could offer a new way of treating asthma, essential for patients whose disease is not well controlled by current therapy.

Sputum Biomarker Panel May Help Identify Which Patients With Lung Nodules Have Lung Cancer

AACR. US: Among patients who had an unidentifiable lung nodule detected by a chest CT scan, testing sputum for a panel of three microRNA (miRNA) biomarkers successfully distinguished early-stage lung cancers from nonmalignant nodules most of the time, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Life at Higher Elevation Linked to Lower Incidence of Lung Cancer, Penn Study Suggests

University of Pennsylvania. US: Here’s another potential reason to live up in the mountains. Lung cancer rates in both smokers and non-smokers are lower in higher-elevation counties in the western part of the United States, suggesting that oxygen may promote the incidence of lung cancer, according to a new study co-authored by a student at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Findings suggest that oxygen may promote the disease in both smokers and non-smokers.

Cellular mechanism protects lungs during severe infections

University of Illinois. US : Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered a novel molecular mechanism that tightens the bonds between the cells that line blood vessels to form a leak-proof barrier.

New Clinical Trial Uses Genomics to Pair Lung Cancer Patients With Drugs

Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital has launched a new study that uses tumor genomic profiling to match lung cancer patients with investigational drugs designed to target the specific gene alterations driving their particular cancers.

Association between Respiratory Syncytial Virus Activity and Pneumococcal Disease in Infants

Plos: Respiratory infections—bacterial and viral infections of the lungs and the airways (the tubes that take oxygen-rich air to the lungs)—are major causes of illness and death in children worldwide. Pneumonia (infection of the lungs) alone is responsible for about 15% of all child deaths.

Respiratory syncytial virus

CDC. US: Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. Healthy people usually experience mild, cold-like symptoms and recover in a week or two. But RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults. In fact, RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States. In addition, RSV is being recognized more often as a significant cause of respiratory illness in older adults.

Ferreting Out Genomic Secrets

NIH. US: Not only is the ferret (Mustela putorius furo) adept at navigating a dirt field or threading electrical cables through piping (in New Zealand, ferrets can be registered as electrician assistants), this furry 5-pounder ranks as a real heavyweight for studying respiratory diseases. In fact, much of our current thinking about influenza is influenced by research with ferrets.

New Treatment Strategy Allows Lower Doses of Toxic Tuberculosis Drug Without Compromising Potency

Johns Hopkins. US: While an effective treatment is available for combating multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, it carries serious side effects for patients. New research conducted at the Center for Tuberculosis Research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine shows that lower doses of the toxic drug bedaquiline — given together with verapamil, a medication that’s used to treat various heart conditions — can lead to the same antibacterial effects as higher toxic doses of bedaquiline. The combination of the two drugs could potentially shorten treatment time, reduce the side effects of bedaquiline and improve patient outcomes for those suffering from TB.

Asthma

Asthma is a disease in which the airways become so narrow that it is difficult to breathe, either temporarily or permanently. This condition is also sometimes referred to as bronchial asthma. Asthma typically comes in episodes or attacks of wheezing, coughing and shortness of breath. Without proper treatment, the lungs may gradually take in less and less oxygen from the air and general physical fitness can worsen.
But asthma does not always get worse. Nowadays asthma can be treated quite effectively using medicine and other interventions. This means that most people with asthma can manage their illness and live a life largely free of symptoms. It is important to understand what you can do on your own, and to find out what kind of therapy is best suited to you.