Feature Channels: Respiratory Diseases and Disorders

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at Canada's McMaster University have established in lab settings that a novel combination of two forms of immunotherapy can be highly effective for treating lung cancer, which causes more deaths than any other form of cancer.

• share
• favorite_border

Study finds NAD+ break down leads to multi organ scarring, providing now a previously undiscovered pathogenic role of the enzyme CD38 in disease scarring.

• share
• favorite_border

E-cigarette exposure stresses and inflames the lungs of rats, compromising important quality control proteins, according to new research.

• share
• favorite_border

COVID-19 deaths are indeed different from other lung failure deaths, according to two recent studies, with 56% of COVID-19 patients dying primarily from the lung damage caused by the virus, compared with 22% of those whose lungs fail due to other causes. But, the researchers conclude, the kind of care needed to help sustain people through the worst cases of all forms of lung failure is highly similar, and just needs to be fine-tuned.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have developed a DNA test to quickly identify secondary infections in COVID-19 patients, who have double the risk of developing pneumonia while on ventilation than non-COVID-19 patients.

• share
• favorite_border

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) has announced United Therapeutics' sponsorship of the PFF Registry, a research resource that tracks clinical data, blood samples and patient-reported outcomes from individuals living with pulmonary fibrosis nationwide.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study analyzes the potential transmission risk of airborne respiratory pathogens during bystander-initiated cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.

• share
• favorite_border

There is more evidence that vaping causes abnormal lung function in young, otherwise healthy people.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers evaluating whether an investigational oral drug, vadadustat, can help prevent acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in COVID-19 patients were awarded $5.1 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to expand the Phase II clinical trial at UTHealth.

• share
• favorite_border

A small and inexpensive sensor, announced in Applied Physics Letters and based on an electrochemical system, could potentially be worn continuously by cardiac patients or others who require constant monitoring. A solution containing electrolyte substances is placed into a small circular cavity that is capped with a thin flexible diaphragm, allowing detection of subtle movements when placed on a patient’s chest. The authors suggest their sensor could be used for diagnosis of respiratory diseases.

• share
• favorite_border

An unfortunate truth about using mechanical ventilation to save lives is that the pressure can cause further lung damage. Scientists are working to boost a natural cellular process in pursuit of a therapy that could lower the chances for lung damage in patients on ventilators.

• share
• favorite_border

Program’s 100th Lung Transplant Is Its First for a Patient with Lungs Damaged by COVID-19

• share
• favorite_border

Today, the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) announced enrollment of the first patient in PRECISIONS (Prospective tReatment EffiCacy in IPF uSIng genOtype for Nac Selection) clinical trial. This is the first clinical trial to apply the principles of precision medicine to the treatment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

• share
• favorite_border

A new study published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines the recovery of lung function and overall wellness in individuals who had varying degrees of COVID-19 severity. Little is known about lung health following infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and whether later respiratory problems, fatigue and ill health are associated with the disease’s initial severity.

• share
• favorite_border

Credentialed press representatives are invited to attend The Society of Thoracic Surgeons VIRTUAL 57th Annual Meeting. This interactive, fully digital experience—expected to be unlike anything that cardiothoracic surgery has experienced to date—will feature thought-provoking lectures, practice-changing science, and cutting-edge techniques and technologies.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

DALLAS – Jan. 5, 2021 – Researchers at the Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern (CRI) have discovered a new metabolic vulnerability in a highly aggressive form of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These findings could pave the way for new treatments for patients with mutations in two key genes – KRAS and LKB1. Patients whose tumors contain both of these mutations, known as KL tumors, have poor outcomes and usually do not respond to immunotherapy.

• share
• favorite_border

Due to COVID-19, it’s important to talk to your doctor right away if you’re experiencing symptoms such as shortness of breath or cough. Take notes about your symptoms, so your doctor can pinpoint if they are early warning signs of another respiratory disease such as pulmonary fibrosis (PF).

• share
• favorite_border

In some cases, immune cells in the lungs can contribute to worsening a virus attack. In a new study, researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden describe how different kinds of immune cells, called macrophages, develop in the lungs and which of them may be behind severe lung diseases.

• share
• favorite_border

The emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012, caused by SARS-CoVand MERS-CoV, respectively, demonstrated the zoonotic potential of coronaviruses.

• share
• favorite_border

Substances present in cooked meats are associated with increased wheezing in children

• share
• favorite_border

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every other Tuesday.

• share
• favorite_border

Elizabeth Silva, 47, is more grateful than ever to spend the holidays with her family this year – just a few months ago she couldn’t move or speak after spending weeks in an intensive care unit (ICU) battling COVID-19. “I really didn’t know if I was going to survive,” Silva said. “The virus took everything from me, mentally and physically. Doctors and physical therapists had to teach me to get up, walk, shower, and even brush my hair.”

• share
• favorite_border

Reporting on how deferred care worsened outcomes for lung cancer patients when the COVID-19 pandemic first surged in the spring of 2020, researchers from the University of Cincinnati explained that they have identified a framework that could help people with serious health conditions keep up their appointments during the current surge. The study has been selected for the 2020 Southern Surgical Association Program and published as an “article in press” on the Journal of the American College of Surgeons website in advance of print.

• share
• favorite_border

By studying the roles of an inflammatory protein and antibodies in chronic rejection after lung transplantation, researchers discover possibilities for new treatments.

• share
• favorite_border

What does SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, do once it enters a person's airways, and how does infection in lung cells affect patients' immune responses? New research led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and published in Nature Communications provides insights that could help improve treatment strategies for infected patients.

• share
• favorite_border

Almost a year ago, COVID-19 began its global rampage, going on to infect about 69.5 million people and kill about 1.6 million as of early this month. From the beginning, most scientists have said that COVID-19 is deadlier than the seasonal flu, while fringe theories have circulated widely, suggesting it is less deadly or flu’s equal. Evidence is accumulating, however, to show just how much deadlier COVID-19 is compared with the flu and the extent of complications related to the two illnesses.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine published one of the most comprehensive analyses of how genes get expressed during infection (known as a transcriptome). The analyses include three different strains of the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, which causes pneumonia, meningitis and middle-ear infections.

• share
• favorite_border

UC San Diego researchers report chemicals used for flavor in e-cigarette liquid negatively affect specialized proteins that support immune system.

• share
• favorite_border

In the first months after their COVID-19 hospital stay, patients face a high risk of ongoing health problems, trips back to the hospital, and death, a growing number of studies has shown. But the first week and a half may be especially dangerous. A new study shows COVID-19 patients had a 40% to 60% higher risk of ending up back in the hospital or dying in the first 10 days , compared with similar patients treated at the same hospitals during the same months for heart failure or pneumonia.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers have developed a method using ultrasound imaging to score a patient’s lung health, which may help predict if a patient with COVID-19 will worsen. Using 14 points in the lungs, they looked for abnormalities and assigned each spot a score out of 3 based on its severity. Adding up all the points, the researchers found the total lung ultrasound score was higher for those who had a worsening outcome of COVID-19. Umberto Sabatini’s presentation will be a part of the 179th ASA Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.

• share
• favorite_border

Blowing air from a fan into the face of patients with advanced cancer experiencing breathlessness, and other nonpharmacologic interventions, may offer symptom relief, according to new research directed by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center investigators. On the other hand, the investigators found medications, such as opioids, had limited impact in improving breathlessness.

• share
• favorite_border

Awareness of guidelines to prevent COVID-19 is high among young asthma sufferers but around a third do not comply with them, according to a new survey published in the Journal of Asthma.

• share
• favorite_border

A new study published in the Environmental Health Perspectives connects insulin resistance and repetitive ozone exposure to the development of interstitial lung disease.

• share
• favorite_border

A large study of patients in the United States who contracted coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) confirms many complications of the disease, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

• share
• favorite_border

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every other Tuesday.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School have reported the first instance of COVID-19 triggering a recurrence of Guillain–Barré Syndrome – a rare disorder where the body’s immune system attacks nerves and can lead to respiratory failure and death.

• share
• favorite_border

Stethoscopes are a ubiquitous and cost-effective tool for medical diagnosis, but they open the door to subjectivity and can experience high levels of environmental noise. This makes it difficult to properly diagnose lung abnormalities, like COVID-19, by listening to sounds from the body. James West, at Johns Hopkins University, has been developing a digital stethoscope equipped with artificial intelligence for accurate lung diagnoses. He will discuss its opportunities and obstacles at the 179th ASA Meeting.

• share
• favorite_border

UHealth – the University of Miami Health System, the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, and 4DMedical recently announced the creation of the Functional Lung Imaging Research Program in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at the Miller School.

• share
• favorite_border

In a multi-group collaborative involving the National Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratories (NEIDL), the Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM), and the Center for Network Systems Biology (CNSB), scientists have reported the first map of the molecular responses of human lung cells to infection by SARS-CoV-2.

• share
• favorite_border

This World AIDS Day, the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS), of which the ATS is a founding member, is calling on governments, health advocates and non-government organizations to strengthen their response to AIDS and tuberculosis, and to ensure that TB services are maintained throughout their response to COVID-19.

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

• share
• favorite_border

As the state’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, together with RWJBarnabas Health, has the tools and experts to provide exceptional care and conduct cutting-edge research to advance our understanding of lung cancer and pave the way for new therapies. Rutgers Cancer Institute expert shares more on the latest research in lung cancer.

• share
• favorite_border

A widely used tuberculosis vaccine is associated with reduced likelihood of contracting COVID-19 (coronavirus), according to a new study by Cedars-Sinai. The findings raise the possibility that a vaccine already approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may help prevent coronavirus infections or reduce severity of the disease.

• share
• favorite_border

Staphylococcus aureus (which includes MRSA) is the most prevalent organism isolated from the airways of children with cystic fibrosis (CF), and is treated using antibiotics, but its role in lung disease is poorly understood

• share
• favorite_border

In a case series of three teen patients, UC Davis Health pediatricians present the common manifestations of COVID-19 and lung injury due to vaping (EVALI). As EVALI and COVID-19 share many symptoms, it is critical for health providers to get the vaping history of teenagers with unexplained breathing problems.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists and medical professionals have long debated whether pod e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes. A new study provides some insight.