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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.

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There is a new tool in the arsenal to fight multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB): a rapid diagnostic test that can function in high-burden settings such as public health clinics.

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World TB is March 24, 2008. The American Thoracic Society, originally named the American Sanitorium Association, continues its long history of fighting against the spread of TB as a member of Stop TB USA and the global Stop TB Partnership.

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Men and women who worked in a plant that processed vermiculite tainted with asbestos-like fibers that originated from a mine in Libby, Montana, show high prevalence of scarring and thickening of the membrane that lines the chest wall some 25 years after the plant stopped using the material"”even those who were exposed at or below current legal levels.

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Children who gain weight rapidly after having their tonsils and adenoids removed to treat sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) may improve in the short-term, but over time they may relapse or even worsen. African-American children also tend to relapse, according to new research from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is scheduled to release its final rule for the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ozone, commonly known as smog, on Wednesday, March 12. The American Thoracic Society (ATS) believes the standard will continue to jeopardize the health of many Americans, and, thus, the rule will fail to meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act.

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Vitamin supplements do not protect against lung cancer, according to a study of more than 77,000 vitamin users. In fact, some supplements may even increase the risk of developing it.

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Using a blood test and a decision algorithm, rather than standard hospital protocols, to determine the appropriate length of antibiotic therapy in patients with severe sepsis or septic shock can reduce duration of treatments, shorten ICU stays, and lower hospital costs"” all without adverse effects on patients, according to new research.

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Smoking is a known risk factor for respiratory diseases like chronic bronchitis, but genes also play a significant role in its development, according to researchers in Sweden, who studied more than 40,000 Swedish twins to determine the extent to which behavior, environment and genes each play a role ion the development of chronic bronchitis.

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Blacks with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were less likely to receive a lung transplant and more likely to die or be removed from the transplant list than whites, according to Columbia University researchers.

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One day doctors may recommend using high efficiency particle air (HEPA) filters along with weight loss, smoking cessation, and exercise to improve cardiovascular health, according to researchers in Denmark. In a recent study, they found that using HEPA filters for just two days significantly improved a key measure of cardiovascular health in healthy, non-smoking elderly individuals.

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Blacks have almost double the rate of severe sepsis"”an overwhelming infection of the bloodstream accompanied by acute organ dysfunction"”as whites, according to recent research.

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The U.S. is likely to fall far short of its benchmark goals toward eliminating tuberculosis as a public health problem, according to data from a nationwide survey.

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Children whose mothers are chronically stressed during their early years have a higher asthma rate than their peers, regardless of their income, gender or other known asthma risk factors.

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Smokers and ex-smokers with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), an untreatable progressive lung disease that usually leads to death within a few years of diagnosis, have a worse prognosis than non-smokers, according to research from London.

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New research on farm women has shown that contact with some commonly used pesticides in farm work may increase their risk of allergic asthma.

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Patients with severe COPD may benefit more from therapy that combines salmeterol and fluticasone [SFC] than treatment with tiotropium, according to results from a long-term, multi-center study, "Investigating New Standards for Prophylaxis in Reducing Exacerbations" (INSPIRE) that directly compared the two therapies.

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Many premature babies face serious health challenges, not the least of which is breathing. But now research suggests that even relatively healthy preemies confront deficits in lung function that last into their second year, if not longer.

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Exposure to traffic pollution may increase respiratory problems and reduce lung volumes in children with asthma, according to researchers who studied the effects of road and traffic density on children's lung function and respiratory symptoms in the border town of Ciudad Juarez in Mexico.

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Women have made a good deal of welcome progress in the last several decades, but at least one advance is unwanted: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is on the rise in women in prevalence, morbidity and mortality. By 2000, the number of women dying from COPD surpassed the number of men. But the rising number of cases in women has not been matched by medical understanding of the disease's apparent gender-bias.

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Treatment with ibuprofen is associated with a significantly slower rate of decline in lung function in children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis, according to a new study.

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A new classification system of rare lung diseases in infants is improving diagnosis and treatment. The system clears up considerable confusion about how to classify and treat diseases that are rarely seen by most doctors and pathologists, says Gail H. Deutsch, M.D., lead author of the multi-center study that developed the new guidelines.

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Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the fourth most common cause of death in the U.S., and is rising"” yet research funding is shamefully low, and public awareness and knowledge on the subject is next to nil.

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For the first time, a study has linked asthma with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among adults in the community. The study of male twins who were veterans of the Vietnam era suggests that the association between asthma and PTSD is not primarily explained by common genetic influences.

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New clinical standards on the treatment of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have been released following an exhaustive review of all available literature. The guidelines, a result of a two-year review of original research and systematic review literature from 1983 to 2006, were published in the second issue for November of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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When it comes to feeding babies, the old adage "breast is best" certainly holds true, with breastfed babies having less diarrhea and fewer ear infections and incidents of wheezing in early life. However, the positive effects of infant feeding on lung function may not hold true for children of asthmatic mothers.

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Immigrants from countries with high rates of tuberculosis who move to countries of low TB incidence do not pose a public health threat to native citizens, according to researchers in Norway, who analyzed the incidence and genetic origins of all known cases of TB in the country between 1993 and 2005.

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While swaths of California burn, rescue efforts are rightly focused on putting out the flames. But when the flames are finally brought under control, Californians will face another serious problem: damage to lungs from intense exposure to smoke can cause serious long-term health problems.

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Using household cleaning sprays and air fresheners as little as once a week can raise the risk of developing asthma in adults, say researchers in Europe. Such products have been associated with increased asthma rates in cleaning professionals, but a similar effect in nonprofessional users has never before been shown.

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Statins are known to be good for lowering cholesterol and maybe even fighting dementia, and now they have another reported benefit: they appear to slow decline in lung function in the elderly"” even in those who smoke. According to researchers in Boston, it may be statins' anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that help achieve this effect.

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In China, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in people over the age of 40 is much more prevalent than previously thought, according to researchers in Guangdong.

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Researchers in Brazil have found that treating patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) dramatically reduces early indications of atherosclerosis in just months, linking OSA directly to the hardening or narrowing of the arteries. Until now, no study has demonstrated such a direct relationship between the two.

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Patients with acute lung injury (ALI) are nearly one-third less likely to die if they are treated at ICUs that require board-certified critical care physicians to oversee patient care, as compared to patients treated at ICUs that allow any attending physician to oversee admission and case management.

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A lack of family support and problems in one's neighborhood are associated with greater asthma symptoms in children and adolescents, according to researchers in Vancouver, Canada.

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The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) has released new standards for the diagnosis, management and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The latest recommendations emphasize the importance of proper diagnosis, assessment of the disease's severity, and the need for a better understanding of co-morbidities to improve treatment of disease.

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Workers and volunteers who helped in the clean-up effort after the 2002 Prestige oil spill off the Galician coast of Spain exhibit prolonged respiratory symptoms resulting from their exposure, say researchers from Spain in the first study to examine the long-term effects of such exposures on workers' respiratory health.

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Children with allergic sensitizations in economically developed countries are much more likely to develop asthma than similarly sensitized children in poorer countries, according to a team of international researchers.

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Researchers in the Netherlands have identified a chemical agent that may be a, if not the, culprit in bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), or "popcorn worker's lung," a severe occupational lung disease first noted in 2001 among workers at an American plant that makes microwaveable popcorn.