Feature Channels: Respiratory Diseases and Disorders

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More research must be done to investigate the role of air pollution on the epigenome in patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs), in order to develop strategies that minimize the effects of these pollutants, according to a new article published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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Jianjun Sun, Ph.D., associate professor in UTEP’s Department of Biological Sciences, led the research on Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Sun’s lab has been investigating the mechanisms of Mtb pathogenesis for more than 10 years at UTEP with a specific focus on EsxA, which is a virulence factor essential for Mtb virulence and a preferred target for developing novel anti-TB drugs and vaccines.

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During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, you’ve probably noticed countless people in public spaces wearing face coverings in a way that leaves their noses uncovered.

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Using an in-home portable air cleaner (PAC) can significantly reduce exposure to fine-particle air pollutants – a major risk factor for cardiovascular events in people with pre-existing heart disease, reports a pilot study in the July issue of Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation and Prevention. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

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SHAREInternational collaboration provides important piece of COVID-19 puzzleLA JOLLA—A new study from researchers at La Jolla Institute for Immunology (LJI) and Erasmus University Medical Center (Erasmus MC) shows that even the sickest COVID-19 patients produce T cells that help fight the virus. The study offers further evidence that a COVID-19 vaccine will need to elicit T cells to work alongside antibodies.

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An overactive defense response may lead to increased blood clotting, disease severity, and death from COVID-19. A phenomenon called NETosis—in which infection-fighting cells emit a web-like substance to trap invading viruses—is part of an immune response that becomes increasingly hyperactive in people on ventilators and people who die from the disease.

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This month the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) launched For My Lung Health, a patient-education website and media campaign. Using public service announcements and an education-based website, For My Lung Health focuses on empowering people from underserved communities who live with chronic lung disease.

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For many patients admitted to the hospital with COVID-19, surviving the virus is only half of the battle. Once deemed virus-free and ready to be sent home, the often-long road to recovery – including rebuilding lung capacity and overall respiratory health – begins. Two Cedars-Sinai respiratory therapists explain what roadblocks these hospital-admitted patients face when it comes to lung health and offer tips for non-patients looking to improve their overall respiratory health.

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A team from Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University are the first in the world to profile the body's immune response to COVID-19.

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A new perspective piece suggests differences in lung physiology and immune function as possible reasons why children are often spared from severe illness associated with SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

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More than 300 scientists and clinicians from the federal government, industry and academia published a report of their conclusions and recommendations on COVID-19 serology studies online in Immunity.

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Exposure to wildfire smoke affects the body's respiratory and cardiovascular systems almost immediately, according to new research from the University of British Columbia's School of Population and Public Health.

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ATS 2020 Virtual is taking place on Aug. 5-10, but you can register for “Breaking News: Clinical Trial Results in Pulmonary Medicine,” a preview session taking place on June 24 at 2-3:45 pm ET. Review program details here. Please note that all content for the Clinical Trial Results session is embargoed until 2 p.m. ET June 24.

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Loading microparticles with drugs designed to active the macrophages in which TB bacteria hide may lead to therapeutics that can treat drug-resistant and latent TB.

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In a new article, scientists provide an exhaustive, evidence-based review of how COVID-19 droplets from infected patients spread through the air and describe how health care professionals can protect themselves. This Pulmonary Perspective is published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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Imagine if scientists could stop the coronavirus infection in its tracks simply by diverting its attention away from living lung cells?

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An open-access American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR) article exploring the diagnostic value of chest CT for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pneumonia--especially for patients with negative initial results of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing--found that the less pulmonary consolidation on chest CT, the greater the possibility of negative initial RT-PCR results.

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Researchers from UCLA, Harvard Medical School and the University of Tokyo found that during a recent six-year period, homeless people in New York state were more likely to hospitalized and treated with mechanical ventilators for respiratory infections than people who are not homeless. These findings have implications for the COVID-19 pandemic.

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In groundbreaking new research, mechanical engineers and computer scientists at the University of Minnesota have developed a 3D printing technique that uses motion capture technology, similar to that used in Hollywood movies, to print electronic sensors directly on organs that are expanding and contracting. The new 3D printing technique could have future applications in diagnosing and monitoring the lungs of patients with COVID-19.

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UofL researchers have discovered that one type of immune cells, low-density inflammatory neutrophils, became highly elevated in some COVID-19 patients whose condition became very severe. This elevation signaled a point of clinical crisis and increased likelihood of death within a few days.

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New research from the University of Southampton has highlighted inequalities faced by men and women over the age of fifty with caring responsibilities.

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A new review details three distinct phases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, and urges medical professionals to consider an individualized treatment approach based on the disease phases and each patient’s symptoms. The review is published ahead of print in Physiological Reviews.

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For the first time, surgeons at Northwestern Medicine performed a double-lung transplant on a patient whose lungs were damaged by COVID-19. The patient, a Hispanic woman in her 20s, spent six weeks in the COVID ICU on a ventilator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a life support machine that does the work of the heart and lungs.

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Discussed in APL Bioengineering, researchers created a high-fidelity respiratory simulator that accurately represents the interplay between the abdomen, diaphragm, lungs and pleural space, the fluid-filled membrane surrounding the thorax and lungs. The model, using swine lungs, soft robotic materials and artificial muscles, allows precise tuning of pressure in each part of the system, so specific disease conditions can be tested. It also proved extremely useful for testing ventilator-only respiration by removing the elastomeric diaphragm.

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A new Viewpoint article published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines ventilation and medication strategies that can help avoid psychological trauma for severe COVID-19 survivors treated for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with mechanical ventilation.

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A new paper published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society examines ventilation and medication strategies that can help avoid psychological trauma for severe COVID-19 survivors treated for acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with mechanical ventilation.

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Researchers at Henry Ford Health System in Detroit say early diagnosis of a life-threatening blood clot in the lungs led to swifter treatment intervention in COVID-19 patients. In a new study published recently in the journal Radiology, researchers found that 51 percent of patients found to have a pulmonary embolism, or PE, were diagnosed in the Emergency Department, the entry point for patients being admitted to the hospital.

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UNC-Chapel Hill researchers show how SARS-CoV-2 infects the nasal cavity to a great degree, and progressively less so lower down the respiratory tract, suggesting the virus tends to become firmly established first in the nasal cavity, but can be aspirated into the lungs to cause serious disease.

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Half of apartment dwellers in Los Angeles report having been exposed to unwanted secondhand smoke in their homes in the last year, and 9 in 10 of them say they favor policies banning smoking from their buildings, a new study by researchers at the Fielding School of Public Health's UCLA Center for Health Policy Research reveals.

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An investigation published open-access in the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR) revealed a high frequency of negative chest CT findings among pediatric patients with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19), while also suggesting that bilateral, lower lobe-predominant ground-glass opacities (GGOs) are common in the subset of patients with positive CT findings.

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In a new paper published online in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society, researchers have been unable to produce two theorized subphenotypes of COVID-19 related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Scientists previously proposed that two phenotypes exist that differentiate patients with more severe COVID-19 and indicate that they should be treated differently. A phenotype is a set of characteristics used to classify a patient, which may influence disease management.

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Beneficial strains of bacteria residing in our guts, genital tracts, and skin have been shown to play a role in human health, and now, researchers publishing May 26 in the journal Cell Reports suggest that some of these "good" bacteria also have a niche in our noses

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A team of investigators at NYU Langone Health determined that just over half of 5,279 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 were hospitalized -- and nearly a quarter of those hospitalized died or were discharged to hospice, including 60 percent who required ventilators.

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COVID-19 infection may cause subacute thyroiditis, according to a new case study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

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COVID-19 is associated with a high incidence of venous thromboembolism, blood clots in the venous circulation, according to a study conducted by researchers at Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), UK.

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While most children infected with the novel coronavirus have mild symptoms, a subset requires hospitalization and a small number require intensive care. A new report from pediatric anesthesiologists, infectious disease specialists and pediatricians at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, describes the clinical characteristics and outcomes of children hospitalized with COVID-19, during the early days of the pandemic.

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The College of American Pathologists (CAP) released a new evidence- based guideline “Collection and Handling of Thoracic Small Biopsy and Cytology Specimens for Ancillary Studies” to clarify procedures and methods to optimize test outcomes.

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Research and experts on the symptoms and spread of COVID-19, impact on global trade and financial markets, public health response, search for an effective treatment, and more

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Chest X-rays performed on young and middle-aged adults with COVID-19 when they arrive at the emergency room can help doctors predict who is at higher risk of severe illness and intubation, Mount Sinai researchers report.

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Blood biomarkers that reflect the body’s response to infection – including white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count, C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin – are generally not useful in predicting the overall severity of community-acquired pneumonia in children, according to a study published in Pediatrics.

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Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute is pleased to announce that Sumit Chanda, Ph.D., has received a $10.2 million, four-year grant from the Department of Defense to develop and advance broad-spectrum antivirals for respiratory diseases. The award aims to provide U.S. military forces and the nation with safe, effective and innovative therapies that combat multiple types of respiratory viruses.

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Joe G. N. "Skip" Garcia, MD, an academic pulmonary physician-scientist describes a complication in COVID-19.

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Today, the American Thoracic Society announced that GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has awarded the Society two grants totaling $380,000 to support the ATS COVID-19 Crisis Fund, a newly launched initiative to develop and disseminate research, education and scientific recommendations to providers in the pulmonary and critical care communities, as well as other clinicians in need of expanding their skill set during this emergency. The first grant will fund two new $50,000 grants in the ATS Research Program in COVID-19. The second grant for $280,000 will support the Society’s patient education and outreach efforts related to COVID-19.

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COVID-19 story ideas from Johns Hopkins.

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Many reports have included pulmonary fibrosis as a potential consequence of COVID-19. Data shows some COVID-19 patients develop scarring on the lungs – but not necessarily chronic pulmonary fibrosis or interstitial lung disease, which are characterized by progressive scarring.

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An interprofessional simulation-based educational program helped Mount Sinai Hospital train nearly 90% of its medical ICU staff to care for patients in prone position, as part of its 2018 implementation of a new protocol related to prone position ventilation for patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome.