Respiratory News and Research

RSS

EC launches world's first in-flight smoking cessation card

The European Commission today announced a new phase in its highly successful smoking cessation campaign, "Ex-Smokers are Unstoppable" on World No Tobacco Day by launching the world's first in-flight smoking cessation card.

1 Jun 2012

Inexpensive paper-based device warns about unhealthy levels of airborne metals

Scientists are reporting development of a new paper-based device that can warn workers that they are being exposed to potentially unhealthy levels of airborne metals almost immediately, instead of the weeks required with current technology. The report on the device, which costs about one cent to make and could prevent illness in the millions of people who work with metal, appears in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry.

1 Jun 2012

Smoking during pregnancy affects weight of the newborns

Smoking during pregnancy has widely documented health repercussions both for mother and baby. A study at the University of Zaragoza on 1216 newly born babies confirms that those born to mothers who smoke weigh and measure less.

1 Jun 2012

Target of 25% reduction in premature mortality from NCDs by 2025 a 'rallying call' for global health community

Member states at the 65th session of the World Health Assembly, which concluded last week, "agreed to adopt a global target of a 25 percent reduction in premature mortality from non-communicable diseases [NCDs] such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases by 2025."

1 Jun 2012

Top-line results from Genzyme’s teriflunomide Phase III trial on MS

Genzyme, a Sanofi company, announced today top-line results from the TOWER (Teriflunomide Oral in people With relapsing remitting multiplE scleRosis) trial that assessed the efficacy and safety of once-daily, oral teriflunomide in patients with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis.

1 Jun 2012

Wellmune minimizes risk of URTI among marathoners

Marathoners taking Wellmune WGP, a natural immune health ingredient, for four weeks experienced an average reduction of 40% in upper respiratory tract infection symptomatic days that commonly afflict long-distance runners, according to new clinical study results presented today at the American College of Sports Medicine 59th annual meeting.

31 May 2012

Top-line results from Alnylam’s ALN-RSV01 Phase IIb trial on RSV infection

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today top-line results from a Phase IIb trial with ALN-RSV01 for the treatment of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in lung transplant patients.

31 May 2012

Pseudomonas infection signals poor outcome for COPD patients

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease who are infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa have a worse clinical outcome and are more likely to be hospitalized than those without the infection, states recent research.

30 May 2012

FDA clears Teleflex’s Arrow FlexTip Plus Closed Tip, Multi-Port epidural catheter

Teleflex Incorporated announced today the Arrow FlexTip Plus Closed Tip, Multi-Port epidural catheter has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

30 May 2012

Breathe Technologies earns Medical Design Excellence Award for NIOV System

Breathe Technologies, Inc. today announced that their Non-Invasive Open Ventilation (NIOV) System has been awarded a prestigious Medical Design Excellence Award (MDEA).

30 May 2012

Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly covers some of the biggest challenges facing public health

The Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly concluded Saturday after adopting 21 resolutions and three decisions on a broad range of health issues. The six days of discussions involved nearly 3000 delegates, including health ministers and senior health officials from amongst the 194 WHO Member States, as well as representatives from civil society and other stakeholders.

28 May 2012

European CHMP issues positive opinion to Vertex's KALYDECO for treatment of CF

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that the European Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion by consensus recommending the approval of KALYDECO (ivacaftor) for people with cystic fibrosis (CF) ages 6 and older who have at least one copy of the G551D mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene.

25 May 2012

Oestrogen promotes presence of 'mucoid' form of P. aeruginosa in women with CF

Researchers from the Respiratory Research Division of the Department of Medicine, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) have published a study which represents a major breakthrough in understanding why females with cystic fibrosis do worse than males.

25 May 2012

Philips, GE Healthcare applaud FCC for Medical Body Area Networks

GE Healthcare and Royal Philips Electronics applaud the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today for its action allocating protected spectrum for wireless medical devices, called Medical Body Area Networks (MBANs), which could revolutionize the way patients are monitored and help eliminate the restrictive cables that tether patients to hospital beds.

25 May 2012

LVRC safe and effective choice for patients with severe heterogeneous emphysema

A tiny, resilient metal wire designed to gather and compress diseased lung tissue may offer relief to patients with severe heterogeneous emphysema, a subtype of the disease that involves specific, usually isolated areas of the lungs, according to the results of a multicenter international trial conducted in the Netherlands, Germany and France. The wire, called a lung volume reduction coil (LVRC), can be easily implanted and is designed to take the place of more invasive procedures used to improve the lung function of emphysema patients.

24 May 2012

ICS may prevent parapneumonic effusion in patients with CAP

Prior treatment with inhaled corticosteroids in patients with respiratory disorders who develop community acquired pneumonia (CAP) is associated with a lower incidence and severity of parapneumonic effusion, according to a new study from researchers in Spain.

24 May 2012

Chronic diseases, bloodstream infections on the rise among HIV+ ICU patients

The expanded use of antiretrovirals, potent drugs used to treat retroviral infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has been linked to significant decreases in hospital mortality rates among severely ill HIV-positive (HIV+) patients nationwide, primarily due to a decrease in opportunistic infections, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University.

24 May 2012

Azithromycin can be effective treatment option for patients with BOS

Researchers in the United Kingdom have determined that azithromycin, a broad-spectrum antibiotic that also has anti-inflammatory properties, can be an effective treatment option for patients suffering from bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), a life-threatening complication that occurs in the majority of patients following lung transplantation.

24 May 2012

Daily use of vitamin C by smoking pregnant woman improves pulmonary function in babies

Vitamin C supplementation in pregnant women who are unable to quit smoking significantly improves pulmonary function in their newborns, according to a new study.

23 May 2012

Results from Boehringer Ingelheim’s Respimat Phase II study on moderate, persistent asthma

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today results from a Phase II study evaluating the investigational compound tiotropium delivered once-daily via the Respimat Inhaler in adolescents with symptomatic, moderate persistent asthma.

23 May 2012