Feature Channels: Respiratory Diseases and Disorders

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Use of statins may influence susceptibility to or the progression of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in smokers, according to a new study.

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Working with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins have successfully used a commonly prescribed blood pressure medicine, losartan (Cozaar), to prevent almost all of the lung damage caused from two months of exposure to cigarette smoke. The treatment specifically targeted lung tissue breakdown, airway wall thickening, inflammation and lung over-expansion.

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More than 10 years after 9/11, when thousands of rescue and recovery workers descended on the area surrounding the World Trade Center in the wake of the terrorist attacks, a research team led by Benjamin J. Luft, M.D., the Edmund D. Pellegrino Professor of Medicine, and Medical Director of Stony Brook’s World Trade Center Health Program, and Evelyn Bromet, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor, Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, and Preventive Medicine, Stony Brook University School of Medicine, has published results of a study examining the relationship between the two signature health problems among WTC first responders—respiratory illness and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

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Adding inhaled dry powder mannitol to standard therapy for cystic fibrosis produced sustained improvement in lung function for up to 52 weeks, according to a new study. Along with the treatment’s efficacy and good safety profile, the convenience and ease of administration of mannitol treatment may improve adherence with therapy in these patients.

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Inhaled glucocorticoids for the treatment of asthma during pregnancy are not associated with an increased risk of most diseases in offspring, but may be a risk factor for endocrine and metabolic disturbances, according to a new study.

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Depressive symptoms and impaired physical function were common and long-lasting during the first two years following acute lung injury (ALI), according to a new study from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Depressive symptoms were an independent risk factor for impaired physical function.

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In populations with a low prevalence of tuberculosis (TB), the majority of positives with the three tests commercially available in the U.S for the diagnosis of TB are false positives, according to a new study.

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About 80 to 90 percent of children at one time or another experience breathing problems. In her new book, "Take a Deep Breath: Clear the Air for the Health of Your Child" (World Scientific Publishers), scheduled for publication in January 2012, Dr. Nina L. Shapiro, director of pediatric ear, nose and throat at Mattel Children's Hospital UCLA and an associate professor of surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, explains all the puzzling and oftentimes distressing breathing patterns children have throughout development.

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Hypoglossal nerve stimulation (HGNS) produced marked dose-related increases in airflow in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients without arousing them from sleep, according to a new study from the Johns Hopkins Sleep Disorders Center. The study suggests the potential therapeutic efficacy of HGNS across a broad range of sleep apnea severity and offers an alternative to continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), the current mainstay of treatment for moderate to severe OSA. The effectiveness of CPAP is often limited by poor patient adherence.

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Metabolic syndrome biomarkers predict subsequent decline in lung function after particulate exposure, according to new research involving rescue personnel exposed to World Trade Center (WTC) dust.

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In the first study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate cardiovascular risk in World Trade Center (WTC) first responders, researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that the responders who experienced high levels of exposure to the initial dust cloud on September 11, 2001, demonstrate high-risk features of atherosclerosis (plaque in arteries).

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Cooking stoves with chimneys can lower exposure to indoor wood smoke and reduce the rate of severe pneumonia by 30 percent in children less than 18 months of age, according to a new air pollution study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

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Vitamin D levels are not related to acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) in patients with severe COPD, according to a large prospective cohort study involving 973 North American patients. The findings were published online ahead of the print edition of the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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Final stage clinical trial shows significantly improved lung function in subset of CF patients.

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Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College say they have taken an important step forward in their quest to "turn on" lung regeneration — an advance that could effectively treat millions of people suffering from respiratory disorders.

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Measuring specific, exercise-related responses can help physicians determine who may be more at risk for severe high altitude illness (SHAI), according to a study conducted by researchers in France. The researchers also found that taking acetazolamide (ACZ), a drug frequently prescribed to prevent altitude illness, can reduce some of the risk factors associated with SHAI.

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Among men who were current or former heavy smokers, undergoing lung cancer screening with computed tomography (CT) scanning identified a substantial proportion who had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), suggesting that this method may be helpful as an additional tool in detecting COPD, according to a study in the October 26 issue of JAMA.

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Although increased use of noninvasive positive-pressure ventilation (NIPPV) nationwide has helped decrease mortality rates among patients hospitalized with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a small group of patients requiring subsequent treatment with invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) have a significantly higher risk of death than those placed directly on IMV, according to researchers in the United States who studied patterns of NIPPV use

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Corticosteroids do not improve survival nor alter the progression of COPD and may reduce lung symptoms as little as 20 percent. A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, found why corticosteroids do not work well for COPD patients and how additional treatment with sulforaphane—an ingredient of broccoli and other vegetables—can improve the effectiveness of corticosteroids.

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A discovery by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies might explain why some premature infants fail to respond to existing treatments for a deadly respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and offers clues for new ways to treat the breathing disorder.

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In contrast to findings of previous studies, patients who experienced an acute lung injury, such as from pneumonia or sepsis, and received dietary supplements including omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants had more days on a ventilator, more days in the intensive care unit (ICU), and a non-statistically significant increase in the rate of death, according to a study appearing in JAMA.

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Patients with severe 2009 H1N1 influenza who developed respiratory failure and were treated with a system that adds oxygen to the patient's blood had a lower rate of in-hospital death than similar patients who did not receive this treatment, according to a study appearing in JAMA.

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Soldiers returning from Iraq or Afghanistan have a high rate of breathing-related symptoms leading to lung function testing, reports a paper in the September Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

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A higher dose of radiation (74 Gy) does not improve overall survival for non-small cell lung cancer that has spread to the lymph nodes, compared to the standard radiation dose (60 Gy), according to an interim analysis of a late-breaking randomized study presented at the plenary session, October 3, 2011, at the 53rdAnnual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

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Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients of different sexes and races respond differently to treatment with commonly used medications for the disease, says a new study from researchers at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

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Treatment with the calcium-sensitizing drug levosimendan may be effective in improving muscle function in patients with respiratory muscle weakness, which often accompanies chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure, according to researchers in the Netherlands, who studied the effects of the drug on healthy volunteers. The drug, which is normally prescribed in patients with acute heart failure,increases the sensitivity of muscle tissue to calcium, improving the muscle’sability to contract.

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Technique for observing how proteins work in human tissue from cystic fibrosis patients yields new insights into the cellular processes of disease.

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Cystic fibrosis is caused by a genetic defect. Although scientists do not fully understand how or why the defect occurs, researchers have found that a protein called ubiquitin ligase Nedd4 may hold a promising clue

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For patients age 40 and over with COPD, hospital readmissions within 30 days of initial treatment were much higher among blacks than Hispanics, Asians, Pacific Islanders or whites.

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Taking probiotics seems to provide both children and adults with a mild degree of protection against many upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) including the common cold, according to a new systematic review.

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Dear reporters, The ten-year anniversary of the 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center is upon us. The American Thoracic Society has experts on hand to assist you with reporting on the health effects from exposure to the airborne pollutants released in the attacks. Please contact me, Keely Savoie, or Brian Kell should you need any additional information.

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An easy-to-use device developed by a local biomedical company is providing relief to Buffalo-area patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

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A common antibiotic can help reduce the severe wheezing and other acute symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a large, multicenter clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and conducted at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

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A common antibiotic added to the usual treatment plan for some patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease can reduce acute exacerbations — sudden onsets of worsened cough, wheezing and labored breathing — and improve quality of life, according to findings from the COPD Clinical Research Network reported in the Aug. 25, 2011, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

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The benefits of continuous positive airway pressure machines (CPAP) for patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are quickly reversed when the therapy is withdrawn, according to Swiss research.

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Surgeons at the University of Kentucky on Aug. 3 announced that they were among the first to use artificial-lung technology to demonstrate the feasibility of a lung transplant, using a device invented by two university faculty members, Dr. Joseph Zwischenberger and Dr. Dongfang Wang.

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Nathan Weimer, who has undergone transplants of both lungs and one kidney, has a 210 bowling average and won a medal in the 2011 World Transplant Games. Weimer, 21, "has dealt with a lot of adversity with great resilience," his doctor says.

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Cigarette smoke exposure fundamentally alters airway tissue from people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) at the cellular level, laying the groundwork for airway thickening and even precipitating precancerous changes in cell proliferation that may be self-perpetuating long after cigarette smoke exposure ends, according to Australian researchers.

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Researchers from the lab of Antonio Giordano, M.D., Ph.D., the Founder and Director of the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, have identified new potential anti-tumor agents that might be effective in treating mesothelioma, one of the deadliest cancer tumors.

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Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) who report treatment for gastroespophageal reflux (GER) appear to have longer survival than IPF patients who are not treated for GERD, according to a new study from the University of California, San Francisco.

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Telomeres, the body’s own cellular clocks, may be a crucial factor underlying the development of emphysema, according to research from Johns Hopkins University.

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Researchers have discovered that obese adults undergoing surgery are less frequently developing respiratory insufficiency (RI) and adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and that when they do, they are less likely to have fatal outcomes.

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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a common and severe lung disease of unknown cause and with no proven therapies. But researchers are pushing forward in investigating new clues to the development and effective treatment of IPF, according to a special symposium presented in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (SSCI).

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Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF)―scarring and thickening of the lungs from unknown causes―is the predominant condition leading to lung transplantation nationwide. Columbia University Medical Center researchers confirmed that delayed access to a tertiary care center for IPF is associated with a higher risk of death.

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Psychosocial stress appears to enhance the lung-damaging effects of traffic-related pollution (TRP) in children, according to new research from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.

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Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who use inhaled corticosteroids to improve breathing for more than six months have a 27 percent increased risk of bone fractures, new Johns Hopkins-led research suggests.

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People who use a mist inhaler to deliver a drug widely prescribed in more than 55 countries to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be 52 percent more likely to die, new Johns Hopkins-led research suggests.

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Ninety-five percent of officers in the NYPD's Emergency Services Unit (ESU) who responded to the 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) disaster show no long-term decrease in lung function, reports a study in the June Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

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A team of international researchers, including Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, have discovered regions of the genome that affect the severity of the genetic disease cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common lethal genetic disease affecting children in North America. The findings provide insight into the causes of the wide variation in lung disease severity experienced by CF patients. It also points the way to new diagnostic markers and therapeutic approaches for this and more common lung diseases, such as asthma and COPD.

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Johns Hopkins Institute for Genetic Medicine researchers working as part of the North American Cystic Fibrosis Consortium have discovered two regions of the genome that affect the severity of cystic fibrosis, a genetic condition that causes scarring throughout the body, affecting most notably the pancreas and lungs. Reporting online this week in Nature Genetics, the team describes the first-ever study to identify genetic variations that are associated with more severe cases of CF.