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Premature infants whose mothers smoked during pregnancy may be at even higher risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) than preemies whose mothers did not smoke, according to new research out of the University of Calgary. In the first-ever experimental study to compare the breathing reflexes of preemies of smokers versus non-smokers, researchers found that babies whose mothers had smoked showed a number of signs of impaired respiratory function.

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Children who are physically or sexually abused are more than twice as likely to have asthma as their peers, according to a recent study of urban children in Puerto Rico. In fact, physical and sexual abuse was second only to maternal asthma in all the risk factors tested, including paternal asthma and indicators of socioeconomic status.

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There is a strong link between obesity and asthma and as the prevalence of both conditions has been increasing steadily, epidemiologists have speculated that there is an underlying condition that connects the two. But one long-suspected link, the systemic inflammation associated with obesity, has been ruled out by a recent New Zealand study that found no evidence of its involvement.

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The widely-held perception that the influenza vaccination reduces overall mortality risk in the elderly does not withstand careful scrutiny, according to researchers in Alberta. The vaccine does confer protection against specific strains of influenza, but its overall benefit appears to have been exaggerated by a number of observational studies that found a very large reduction in all-cause mortality among elderly patients who had been vaccinated.

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For the first time, a drug therapy appears to reduce lung function loss in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the results of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 42 countries.

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Boys may be more apt than girls to have childhood asthma, but, when compared to girls, they are also more likely to grow out of it in adolescence and have a decreased incidence of asthma in the post-pubertal years.

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Ventilator-induced injury to the lungs can contribute to prolonged respiratory failure and even death among patients with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). Even post-operative patients with previously healthy lungs, who require temporary mechanical ventilation, are at risk of ventilator-induced lung injury. Although such injuries have been reduced tremendously over just a few decades ago, a new study suggests, they have much further to go.

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The standard regimens to treat tuberculosis (TB) are inadequate in countries with high rates of multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB. In countries with high rates of MDR-TB, patients are nearly twice as likely to fail their initial treatment than those in countries with low rates, according to a new analysis of World Health Organization (WHO) data.

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Creatine, a popular nutritional supplement renowned for enhancing athletic performance and muscle strength, does not improve exercise outcomes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a new study. The randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study provided the most powerful evidence to date that the effect of creatine (Cr) supplementation was negligible at best among these patients.

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Expectant mothers who eat nuts or nut products like peanut butter daily during pregnancy increase their children's risk of developing asthma by more than 50 percent over women who rarely or never consume nut products during pregnancy, according to new research from the Netherlands.

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Following a low-sodium diet does not appear to have any appreciable impact of asthma control as once thought, according to new research.

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Outbreaks of tuberculosis (TB) may be able to be identified by looking at certain characteristics of the first two patients, according to new research. If the first two patients are diagnosed within three months of each other, live in urban areas, and if one or both are of sub-Saharan African origin, there is a 56 percent chance that the two cases will lead to a large outbreak of TB, whereas if the patients exhibit none of those characteristics, the odds are just one percent.

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New evidence blames traffic-related pollution for increasing the risk of allergy and atopic diseases among children by more than fifty percent. What's more, the closer the children live to roads, the higher their risk.

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Patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)"”chronically high blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lungs"”whose serum sodium levels are low (called hyponatremia, or HN) have a very poor chance of survival and a high rate of right-heart failure (RHF), according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania.

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A new study provides the most direct evidence that there exists a causal link between smoking during pregnancy and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Clinicians have long considered prenatal cigarette smoke exposure a major contributing risk factor for SIDS, but researchers had not proved a casual relationship.

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U.S. Army service members are increasingly deployed in regions of the world where tuberculosis (TB) is rampant, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and the military now faces a growing medical problem. But it is not TB itself that is on the rise"”instead, the problem lies with the growing number of "pseudoepidemics," or clusters of false-positives for TB.

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An important study raises concern about the way intensive care physicians approach patients and families facing serious end-of-life medical decisions. Based on interviews with more than 1,200 ICU physicians at five major medical centers across the country, researchers conclude that physicians are less comfortable discussing end-of-life issues and do it less frequently with African American patients and their families than with Caucasian patients and families.

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Widely varying blood glucose levels may pose as great a threat, or possibly a greater threat, to critically ill patients as high, but steady, glycemic levels, according to researchers in Saudi Arabia, who will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20.

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Two studies being presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, May 21 provide insights into lung disease and lung function in young adults. One links low levels of a protein called adiponectin in fat cells to an increase in asthma risk in young women. A second finds that high levels of a protein called ICAM-1 is associated with lower lung function.

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Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in very young children may cause some of the adverse cardiovascular health consequences seen in older children and adults with the condition, according to researchers in Israel, who will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, May 21.

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A large group of soldiers returning from Iraq have been diagnosed with bronchiolitis, a disease affecting the small airways of the lung, according to Vanderbilt University Medical Center physicians who will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, May 21.

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A new study has found that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are at high risk for hospitalization or emergency room visits from exacerbations or complications benefit from simple low-intensity case management.

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First-born children are at higher risk of developing asthma and allergy because of different conditions they experience in the uterus, according to new research from the Isle of Wight in the United Kingdom, which will be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, May 21

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Mothers exposed to farms, particularly to barns and farm milk, while pregnant confer protection from allergies on their newborns, according to a group of German researchers, who will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, May 21.

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For patients with end-stage lung cancer, noninvasive ventilation (NIV) may be more effective at reducing breathing difficulty than standard oxygen therapy, and has the added advantage of reducing patients' reliance on morphine, thus improving lucidity in their final days, according to research presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20. For patients at this stage, even small comforts can be the difference between a peaceful or an agonizing death.

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Limits on the number of hours that medical residents are allowed to work in a day does not negatively affect outcomes in even the most sensitive patient population: critically ill patients in intensive care units. Moreover, there has been a decrease in mortality among ICU patients in both teaching and non-teaching hospitals alike during the work-hours reform.

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Scientists believe they may have identified a biological explanation for the link between cesarean-section delivery and risk of allergy and asthma in childhood. They will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20.

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Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are in their final years of survival do not get the same benefits from pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) as patients who have more years left to live"”regardless of their age, complicating illnesses or lung function, according to new research funded by the Veteran's Administration, which will be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20.

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A new way to treat patients with latent tuberculosis (TB), who are infected with TB but without symptoms, can effectively treat it in less than half the time and at a lower cost than the current standard treatment, according to researchers who conducted a multi-center, randomized controlled trial. The results will be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20.

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Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) may have a new treatment option, according to researchers in Japan.

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A program that delivers pulmonary rehabilitation via video-conferencing technology, the internet and other emerging technologies to patients who live too far from respiratory therapy centers to make the twice-weekly trip improves their clinical condition, outcome and quality of life in just eight weeks, according to a study to be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20.

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Markers of oxidative stress may predict future lung trouble, according to new research to be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Wednesday, May 21.

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A silver-coated endotracheal tube may reduce infections with highly resistant bacteria over traditional tubes by nearly half, according to the results of a large randomized trial to be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Monday, May 19.

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A simple blood test may be able to detect lung cancer in its earliest stages with unprecedented accuracy, according to new research to be presented at American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20.

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The goal of developing reliable genetic tests to guide lung cancer treatment has taken a step forward. Researchers at Columbia University recently evaluated the ability of five high-risk genetic profiles, or signatures, to predict the likelihood that cancer would recur in patients whose non-small cell lung cancer was caught early and surgically removed. They will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20.

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Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may also lower blood pressure among hypertensive adults, according to researchers in Spain, who will present his findings at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Sunday, May 18.

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Stroke victims who have obstructive sleep apnea die sooner than stroke victims who do not have sleep apnea or who have central sleep apnea, according to Swedish researchers, who will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Monday, May 19.

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NASA gathers a tremendous amount of data on the environment that can be helpful in understanding lung disease. In a session at the ATS 2008 International Conference called "Observations From Space: A Unique Vantage Point for the Study of the Environment and Possible Associations with Disease Occurrence," scientists from NASA, the CDC and the University of Alabama will present research results from NASA projects involving observations of Earth.

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Symptoms of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among caregivers of deceased lung transplant patients are four-to-five times more prevalent than in the average population, according to researchers who analyzed the stress levels of caregivers, as well as their perceptions of the transplant recipients' quality of dying and death.

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Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) have a significantly sharper decline in lung function with age when compared to other children of the same race and age. Furthermore, that loss of function appears to be linked to a restrictive rather than obstructive pattern, contrary to previous research that has focused on obstructive or asthma-like patterns in loss of lung function with sickle cell disease.

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When men present in emergency departments with pneumonia, they are likely to be sicker than women and have a greater risk of dying over the next year, despite the more aggressive medical care they receive, according to research from the University of Pittsburgh that will be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Tuesday, May 20. Even when social and environmental factors such as age, race, insurance, smoking and other illnesses are taken into account, the disparity remains.

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Women who are stressed during pregnancy may pass some of that frazzlement to their fetuses in the form of increased sensitivity to allergen exposure and possibly future asthma risk, according to researchers from Harvard Medical School who will present their findings at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Sunday, May 18.

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People with severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on commercial airline flights may have a greater risk of adverse events from cardiac stress than healthy people, according to new research to be presented at the American Thoracic Society's 2008 International Conference in Toronto on Sunday, May 18.

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Chemicals found in green tea may be able to stave off the cognitive deficits that occur with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), according to a new study published in the second issue for May of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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Dr. Edward Livingston Trudeau, who founded the organization that is now known as the American Thoracic Society, will be recognized by the United States Postal Service with the issuance of a Distinguished American stamp on May 12.

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Nearly one in three children admitted to pediatric intensive care will experience delusions or hallucinations, which put them at higher risk for post-traumatic stress symptoms, according to a new study of children's experiences in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

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Obesity can worsen the impact of asthma and may also mask its severity in standard tests, according to researchers in New Zealand, who studied lung function in asthmatic women with a range of body mass indexes (BMIs).

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Palliative care was once reserved for patients when all curative options had been exhausted and death was imminent, but now it is considered an integral part of the care that should be available to patients with serious respiratory disorders and critical illnesses.

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Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may gain better control over their breathing and breathe more efficiently by using their breath to play a computer game, according to new research.

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A diagnostic kit shows new promise for distinguishing between tuberculosis (TB) and its infections from disease caused by related mycobacteria family, which mimic TB and other lung disease in symptoms but require distinctly different clinical treatments.