Feature Channels: Respiratory Diseases and Disorders

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Seven years ago, Nikki Burleigh of Rahway, New Jersey, was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent conventional radiation therapy and a lobectomy to remove the affected part of her lung. Her treatment was successful, and she received regular checkups with her pulmonologist and oncologist for several years. But in December 2019, a routine CT scan revealed that Nikki’s lung cancer returned.

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Researchers have determined what happens at a cellular level as the lung alveolus forms and allows newborns to breathe air. Understanding this process gives researchers a better sense of how to develop therapies and potentially regenerate this critical tissue in the event of injury.

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The science behind the COVID-19 vaccine has the potential to do more than prevent cases of COVID-19 itself. In the coming years, it could also help doctors treat stubborn forms of cancer.

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Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have identified a new molecular target that could potentially treat the deadly, aging-related lung disease idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The study, which will be published March 10 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (JEM), suggests that targeting a protein called MDM4 could prevent respiratory failure by initiating a genetic program that removes scar tissue from the lungs.

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Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have implicated a type of immune cell in the development of chronic lung disease that sometimes is triggered following a respiratory viral infection. The evidence suggests that activation of this immune cell serves as an early switch that, when activated, drives progressive lung diseases, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

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Diphtheria - a relatively easily-preventable infection - is evolving to become resistant to a number of classes of antibiotics and in future could lead to vaccine escape, warn an international team of researchers from the UK and India.

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In this episode, Dr. Tom Varghese interviews Dr. Sidhu Gangadharan from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School.

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Administering zinc supplements to covid-19 patients with low levels of this element may be a strategy to reduce mortality and recovery time. At the same time, it could help to prevent risk groups, like the elderly, from suffering the worst effects of the disease.

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In this episode, Dr. David Tom Cooke interviews Dr. Melanie Edwards from Integrated Health Associates in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

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In this episode, Dr. Tom Varghese interviews STS Past President Dr. Doug Wood.

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Adolescents who vape cannabis are at greater risk for respiratory symptoms indicative of lung injury than teens who smoke cigarettes or marijuana, or vape nicotine, a new University of Michigan study suggests.

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The AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG), the largest global HIV research network, will present four oral and 20 scientific spotlight sessions at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI 2021) held virtually, March 6-10.

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In this episode, Dr. Tom Varghese interviews Dr. Shanda Blackmon from the Mayo Clinic.

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In this episode, Dr. David Tom Cooke interviews Dr. Tom Varghese from the University of Utah. Dr. Varghese shares captivating details of his “very unique life.”

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Researchers have demonstrated how one combination of therapies may be beneficial for patients with mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders. This preclinical research paves the way to develop more tailored treatment options for patients with inherited mitochondrial disease and acquired energy disorders.

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In this episode, Dr. Tom Varghese interviews Dr. David Tom Cooke from UC Davis Health.

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In this episode, Dr. David Tom Cooke interviews STS Director-at-Large Dr. Leah Backhus from Stanford Health Care.

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In this episode, Dr. Tom Varghese interviews Dr. Doug Mathisen, STS Historian and Past President.

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In this episode, Dr. David Tom Cooke interviews Dr. Joanna Chikwe, chair of the Cardiac Surgery Department in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai.

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A new paper published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society discusses how smoking may affect risk for COVID-19 and the types of research that are needed to better understand the link between smoking and COVID-19 risk.

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In this episode, Dr. David Tom Cooke interviews Dr. Richard Prager, STS Past President and director of the Frankel Cardiovascular Center at the University of Michigan.

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Low blood levels of immune cells called lymphocytes, in combination with higher levels of inflammation on PET/CT scans, are indicators of active sarcoidosis — an inflammatory disease that attacks multiple organs, particularly the lungs and lymph nodes — which disproportionately affects African Americans. The discovery by researchers at the University of Illinois Chicago could help guide disease treatment.

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In this inaugural episode, Dr. Tom Varghese interviews Dr. Robert Higgins, STS Past President and surgeon-in-chief at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

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Hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and abnormal sodium levels in the blood have an increased risk of experiencing respiratory failure or dying, according to a study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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Hackensack Meridian Hackensack University Medical Center has become the first hospital in the world to use a new extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) system to treat and improve breathing for a patient with COVID-19.

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A new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has uncovered a previously unknown role for exosomes in inflammatory respiratory diseases. The study has implications for finding new therapies. Exosomes are tiny compartments released from cells that carry different types of cargo, including inflammatory chemicals called cytokines that can drive lung disease.

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ROCKVILLE, MD – A tenth of all intensive care unit patients worldwide, and many critical patients with COVID-19, have acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

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In a long-term study in a Salt Lake-area building, researchers found that the amount of air pollution that comes indoors depends on the type of outdoor pollution. Wildfires, fireworks and wintertime inversions all affect indoor air to different degrees.

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Around 80% of the UK population is currently infected with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and in developing countries this can be as high as 95%.

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To mark Rare Disease Day on February 28, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) aims to increase public understanding of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) to drive home the importance of early diagnosis to help improve the quality of life for patients.

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The ATS 2021 International Conference is May 14-19 this year. We’re virtual and, therefore, available anywhere you are. Our featured speaker is Dr. Anthony Fauci, who will present at the opening ceremony on Saturday, May 15.

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Masks help protect the people wearing them from getting or spreading SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, but now researchers from the National Institutes of Health have added evidence for yet another potential benefit for wearers: The humidity created inside the mask may help combat respiratory diseases such as COVID-19.

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Researchers at the Southwest National Primate Research Center (SNPRC) at Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed) may have found a new pathway to treat and control tuberculosis (TB), the disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Using single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq), a next-generation sequencing technology, scientists were able to further define the mechanisms that lead to TB infection and latency.

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Jefferson researchers join a CDC study to follow COVID-19 “long-haulers” and their symptoms.

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New research shows chocolate-flavored e-cigarettes are “particularly harmful” to the lungs.

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UC San Diego researchers find that an optical tool already embedded in many smartphones can accurately diagnose blood-oxygen levels and help monitor respiratory disease in patients, particularly when they are quarantined at home.

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Experts discuss key insights in clinical treatment of COVID-19 from Year One of the pandemic.

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A study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine provides the most definitive evidence to date that, of the two drugs recommended for light sedation of patients receiving mechanical ventilation in the ICU, one is as effective and safe as the other.

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Recently awarded two APEX Recognition Awards, respiratory therapists at Rush are advancing COVID-19 treatment.

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NIH researchers and their collaborators found that inhaling unfragmented hyaluronan improves lung function in patients suffering from severe exacerbation of COPD. Hyaluronan is a sugar secreted by living tissue that acts as a scaffold for cells. Utilized as a treatment, hyaluronan decreased the number of days in the hospital.

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The finding can offer a new way for creating therapies to prevent secondary bacterial infections.

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Research from the University of Georgia shows that state laws promoting flu vaccinations for hospital workers can substantially reduce the number of influenza-related deaths.

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According to the Surgeon General, 14% of Americans smoke and 16 million suffer from smoking-related diseases. Pulmonary fibrosis, a debilitating disease often caused by tobacco usage, is little-known among smokers. The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation shares insights on critical risk factors.