Feature Channels: Respiratory Diseases and Disorders

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Experts at Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS) and McMaster University, in partnership with The Ottawa Hospital, have begun a clinical trial to determine if the unique experimental immunotherapy combination may be able to treat non-small cell lung cancer. The experimental therapy combines two different viruses with an approved drug to stimulate the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells.

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Parents of kids with allergies and asthma need to do some advance planning before sending them off to summer camp.

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Better medical responses to the accidental or intentional release of inhaled toxic chemicals are being developed, but the field faces considerable challenges, according to a new report by an international panel of experts. The report, “Chemical Inhalation Disasters: Biology of Lung Injury, Development of Novel Therapeutics, and Medical Preparedness,” has been published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

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Doctors and researchers in Southampton have developed a novel way of using a swab test which can rapidly diagnose flu and other viral infections in patients with severe respiratory conditions – resulting in shorter courses of antibiotics and less time in hospital.

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An early round of clinical testing shows that users of Opdivo, a drug sanctioned for treatment of small-cell lung cancer, more than tripled their five-year survival rate beyond the statistical average.

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Researchers are exploring new ways of predicting thunderstorm asthma outbreaks that may one day provide early warnings for health professionals, emergency management officials and residents in affected areas.

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Transcription factors, the tiny proteins that switch genes on or off in the nucleus of cells, are considered unreachable molecular targets for drugs attempting to treat medical conditions. Overcoming this challenge, researchers discovered a small molecular compound that successfully blocks a transcription factor and its pro-inflammatory and hyper-mucous activity in asthma. In a study published online April 18 by Science Signaling, scientists test a new compound they call RCM-1.

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The University of Virginia Health System is conducting a research study to determine if exercise and reduced-nicotine cigarettes can ease the withdrawal symptoms associated with reducing nicotine dependence.

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Although human population studies have linked air pollution to chronic inflammation of nasal and sinus tissues, direct biological and molecular evidence for cause and effect has been scant. Now, Johns Hopkins researchers report that experiments in mice continually exposed to dirty air have revealed that direct biological effect.

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A Chicago police officer has become the 900th patient to receive a life-saving lung transplant at Loyola Medicine. “It’s given me a whole new life,” said officer Theresa Boss-French. “Since my transplant, I have not coughed once or struggled to breathe.”

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According to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, more than 30,000 Americans are living with the disorder. It currently has no cure, though a drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration treats the underlying cause of the disease. However, the drug’s effectiveness for each individual is unknown. Researchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have developed an imaging technique using a specific form of helium to measure the drug’s effectiveness. Researchers hope the finding could lead to improved therapies for cystic fibrosis and other lung conditions.

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A research breakthrough allowing the first direct, empirical, blood-based, cow-side test for diagnosing bovine tuberculosis (TB) could spare ranchers and the agriculture industry from costly quarantines and the mass slaughter of animals infected with this easily spread disease.

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The MURDOCK Study, Duke Clinical Research Institute and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today the launch of a new collaborative research effort to closely follow 850 people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

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Rutgers University scientists have determined the three-dimensional structure of the target of the first-line anti-tuberculosis drug rifampin. They have also discovered a new class of potential anti-tuberculosis drugs that kill rifampin-resistant and multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis bacteria. Tuberculosis (TB) bacteria infect a third of the world's population and the disease kills 1.8 million people annually.

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Findings published in the Journal of Pediatrics describe growth factors in cord blood that may identify premature infants at risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia-associated pulmonary hypertension (BPD-PH) – an often fatal lung disease in which the vessels carrying blood from the heart to the lungs become narrowed and dysfunctional. Identifying these babies at birth would allow earlier interventions to prevent the disease that manifests in some preemies two to three months after birth.

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Children may carry significant levels of nicotine on their hands just by coming into contact with items or surfaces contaminated with tobacco smoke residues, even when no one is actively smoking around them at the time. A study in Tobacco Control also reports the presence of significant nicotine on the hands of children was associated with equally significant levels of the harmful tobacco metabolite cotinine in saliva.

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A new study, published in Annals of the American Thoracic Society, examined symptoms of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder in long-term survivors of ARDS and any associated changes in cortisol levels in the patients.

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Use of inhaled corticosteroids in women is associated with a higher body mass index (BMI) and an increased prevalence of the metabolic syndrome, which is a cluster of risk factors for type 2 diabetes and heart disease, researchers have found. Results from a large Dutch study will be presented Sunday at the Endocrine Society’s 99th annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

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Middle-aged and elderly people with higher free thyroxine levels may be more likely to develop atherosclerotic diseases, new research from the Netherlands reports. The results of the study will be presented Sunday, April 2, at ENDO 2017, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, in Orlando, Fla.

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Researchers have identified a hormone that helps prevent the spread of bacterial pneumonia through the body, and that discovery may offer a simple way to help vulnerable patients.

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Women who follow a high-fat diet during pregnancy may increase their children’s risk for asthma. A mouse study by Oregon Health and Science University researchers suggests that consistent consumption of fat-laden foods may change the immune response of the offsprings’ respiratory system.

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A new study in Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology shows shows that about 50 percent of those who thought they were allergic to all tree nuts were able to pass an oral food challenge without a reaction.

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There are steps we can take to protect ourselves and our families from air pollution, which has well-documented negative consequences for childhood asthma, birth outcomes, pregnancy risks, cardiovascular health, and other diseases.

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An advanced form of image-guided radiation therapy, known as intensity modulated proton therapy (IMPT), has shown early promise for the treatment of recurrent lung cancer, according to new research from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

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A study comparing children 7 to 11 years old with moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea to children the same age who slept normally found significant reductions of gray matter – brain cells crucial to most cognitive tasks – in several regions of the brains of children with sleep apnea. The finding points to connections between this common sleep disturbance and the loss of neurons or delayed neuronal growth in the developing brain.

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A joint statement by the presidents of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology addresses the drastic cuts in medical research in the proposed budget by President Trump

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Collaborative study with Cleveland Clinic & SUNY Upstate Medical University shows that single high-dose SBRT treatment is as effective as three doses in patients with non-small cell lung cancer

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After evaluating more than 900 differences in the shape and structure of cancer cells, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers developed a computer model able to predict the most deadly lung cancers based on a fraction of those features.

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Dawn Andersen lost her husband to lung cancer, and as a longtime smoker herself, she also was at high risk for the disease. So Loyola Medicine pulmonologist Sean Forsythe, MD, recommended Mrs. Andersen undergo a CT lung cancer screening test, which has been shown to save lives among longtime smokers by detecting lung cancer in early stages when it’s most treatable.

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Analysis of the largest American cancer database indicates that racial disparities persist in the treatment and outcomes of patients diagnosed with stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

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The genetic mutations underlying treatment resistance in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are more complex and dynamic than previously thought.

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A new study offers hope for patients with recurrent lung cancer, who historically have been considered ineligible for curative treatment.

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Patients in their 80s and 90s who have early stage lung cancer but cannot undergo an operation can be treated safely and effectively with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), according to research presented today at the 2017 Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancers Symposium.

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Results from a prospective clinical trial showed that a blood test looking at specific biomarkers was able to detect recurrences of lung cancer an average of six months before conventional imaging methods found evidence of recurrence.

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An emerging approach for cancer treatment seeks to combine radiation therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICPIs) to more effectively control tumors in the chest with an acceptable risk of severe treatment-related side effects.

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Treating the brain with a preventative course of radiation may help Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) patients – whose tumors often spread to their brain -- live longer, according to a new study from researchers in the Abramson Cancer Center and Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. A separate study revealed that the most commonly-targeted mutation of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) is most likely to result in progression at the primary site.

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Results of a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers using national data add to evidence that living in inner cities can worsen asthma in poor children. They also document persistent racial/ethnic disparities in asthma.

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Built using Apple’s ResearchKit, the Asthma Mobile Health Study demonstrates utility, security, and validity of smartphone-based research to engage broader patient population

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Bedcovers that form a barrier to house dust mites appear to reduce asthma flare-ups in children, according to new research published online, ahead of print in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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The press program for next week’s 2017 Multidisciplinary Thoracic Cancers Symposium features research advances in lung cancer including immunotherapy, proton therapy and liquid biopsy, among others.

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People with asthma are likely to have worse symptoms when they get the flu because they have weaker immune systems, new Southampton research has shown.

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Kids get colds – sometimes, lots of them. But when runny noses and coughs turn into trouble breathing, the problem could indicate RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus.

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A new study finds that caffeine may protect the lungs from damage caused by prolonged oxygen therapy, such as oxygen supplementation given to premature babies. The article is the first of its kind to study the positive effects of caffeine on the lungs’ minute tissue structures.

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Latinos experience significant disparities in health care including higher rates of particular cancers, lower cancer screening rates and cancer diagnoses at more advanced stages. Researchers at The University of Kansas Cancer Center want to help Latinos with tobacco cessation treatment (both medication and behavioral support) via text messaging.

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Could lung cancer be hiding in kidney cancer patients? Researchers with the Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Kidney Cancer Program studied patients with metastatic kidney cancer to the lungs and found that 3.5 percent of the group had a primary lung cancer tumor that had gone undiagnosed. This distinction can affect treatment choices and rates of survival.

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The last thing you want is a series of "achoos" to interrupt your "I do's," or worse, send someone to the hospital. With these 10 tips from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, you can limit allergy concerns on your wedding day.

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For most people, warmer winter temperatures mean a break from home heating bills and an early start on outdoor activities. But for millions of others those warmer temps mean an early - and possibly longer - sneezin' season of runny noses, watery eyes and scratchy throats from seasonal allergies.