Respiratory News and Research

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Flu immunization targets fall short for health workers and pregnant women

According to a new survey despite recent improvements in influenza vaccination rates among U.S. health care personnel, their rates for the 2010-2011 flu season still fell short of national health objectives.

18 Aug 2011

Cortex second quarter net loss decreases to $356,000

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported a net loss of approximately $356,000, or $0.00 per share, for the quarter ended June 30, 2011, compared with a net loss of approximately $2,454,000, or $0.04 per share, for the corresponding prior year period, with the difference reflecting revenues in the current year period from the Company's option agreement with Servier, France's largest privately held pharmaceutical company.

18 Aug 2011

BIS monitor not superior in preventing intraoperative awareness than other alternatives

Anesthesiology researchers have shown that a device approved by the Food and Drug Administration to reduce the risk that patients will recall their surgery does not lower the risk of the problem, known as intraoperative awareness, any more than a less expensive method.

18 Aug 2011

New research: Sniffer dogs can reliably identify lung cancer

Sniffer dogs could be used for the early detection of lung cancer, according to new research published in the European Respiratory Journal.

18 Aug 2011

Harmless bacteria re-engineered to fight a deadly strain

Scientists in Singapore have re-engineered a harmless strain of bacteria to fight another common, drug-resistant microbe that spreads in hospitals and is deadly to patients with weak immune systems.

17 Aug 2011

Seattle Children's receives Gates Foundation grant to complete development of Sea-PAP

Seattle Children's Research Institute today announced the receipt of a two-year, $2.3 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to complete prototype development of its new respiratory support device, called Seattle Children's Positive Airway Pressure.

17 Aug 2011

Study suggests link between pre-pregnancy obesity and asthma symptoms in teen children

Mums who are overweight or obese when they become pregnant may be programming their children to have asthma-like respiratory symptoms during adolescence, suggests research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

16 Aug 2011

Bird malaria in Britain worries experts

British birds are being increasingly detected with malaria. Two decades back few British species showed regular signs of infection but now some 30 types are infected, monitoring projects have found. The problem is linked to a rapid growth in mosquito populations, which is attributed to a rise of about 1 degrees centigrade in global average temperature, say experts.

15 Aug 2011

New ‘cure-all’ antiviral method discovered

In a new development that could transform how viral infections are treated, a team of researchers at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory has designed a drug that can identify cells that have been infected by any type of virus, then kill those cells to terminate the infection.

15 Aug 2011

Vampire bat causes rabies

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced the first death linked to a vampire bat. The victim’s mother reported that her son was bitten by a vampire bat on his heel while he was sleeping. At the time, the bite was not reported or treated in Mexico, where the bite occurred.

15 Aug 2011

Kineta's next generation antiviral program receives $2.8 million NIH SBIR grant

Kineta, Inc. announced today its next generation antiviral program has received a 2.8 million dollar grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Awarded under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, the prestigious phase two grant will provide on-going support for Kineta's work on a new class of antiviral drugs targeting an array of global, deadly viruses.

12 Aug 2011

Allergy & Asthma Specialists, P.C. adopts Aerocrine's FENO technology

Aerocrine AB today announced that Allergy & Asthma Specialists, P.C. has adopted Aerocrine's FENO technology for airway inflammation measurement as part of its clinical standardization on a system-wide basis.

12 Aug 2011

CPAP withdrawal leads to return of obstructive sleep apnea

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.

12 Aug 2011

SIGMAR1 gene mutation associated with development of juvenile ALS

Researchers from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have identified a mutation on the SIGMAR1 gene associated with the development of juvenile amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

12 Aug 2011

China Pharma second quarter revenue increases 18% to $19.6 million

China Pharma Holdings, Inc., a specialty pharmaceuticals company in China, today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.

11 Aug 2011

Commercial blood serum antibody tests cost-effective, not accurate for active TB

Commercial blood serum antibody tests—widely used in India and other developing countries to diagnose active tuberculosis—are not accurate or cost-effective, according to an analysis by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Washington School of Public Health and McGill University.

11 Aug 2011

Music therapy for cancer: Relieves anxiety and pain

According to a new analysis of previously published research singing, playing an instrument or even just listening to music may lessen anxiety in cancer patients and improve their overall quality of life.

11 Aug 2011

Erythromycin can prevent and treat aseptic loosening of total joint replacement

Total joint replacement surgeries can help relieve joint pain common in people with conditions like osteoarthritis. But sometimes, the debris from prosthetic joints leads to aseptic loosening, or disintegration of surrounding bones.

10 Aug 2011

Music and music therapy may benefit cancer patients

Cancer patients may benefit from sessions with trained music therapists or from listening to music. Using music can reduce anxiety in cancer patients, and may also have positive effects on mood, pain and quality of life, according to a new Cochrane systematic review led by Dr. Joke Bradt, an associate professor in Drexel University's College of Nursing and Health Professions.

10 Aug 2011

Study finds very low rates of pertussis in children with cough

Contrary to some recent studies, only a low percentage of children treated for respiratory illness with cough have unsuspected pertussis, reports a study in the August issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

10 Aug 2011