Lung Disease News and Research

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Study shows beneficial anti-fibrotic effects of Pentraxin-2 in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Promedior, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies to treat fibrotic and inflammatory diseases, announced today the publication of collaborative research in the International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology entitled, "TGF-beta driven lung fibrosis is macrophage dependent and blocked by Serum amyloid P."

14 Feb 2011

Study: Leptin resistance may help prevent ARDS, ALI development in patients with type II diabetes

Resistance to leptin, a protein that plays a key role in regulating metabolism and appetite, may help prevent the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome and acute lung injury in individuals with type II diabetes, according to a study conducted by researchers in Chicago.

13 Feb 2011

Study reveals beneficial anti-fibrotic effects of Pentraxin-2 in TGFβ1-induced lung disease

11 Feb 2011

Nutritional deficiencies among indigenous populations: two studies

They find iodine deficiency for the first time among an Aboriginal population in the NT. This deficiency was previously thought to occur only in the nation’s south-eastern states. The study involved nearly 400 teenagers of aboriginal origin living in remote as well as urban areas of the Darwin Health Region, which covers 120,000 km-square of the top end of the NT.

7 Feb 2011

Most Canadians want to do more to support cancer research

When it comes to cancer research, Canadians want to do more. A national survey released today in advance of World Cancer Day shows that more than half of Canadians 35 to 69 years of age feel cancer should be a top priority for health research. However, the survey also shows that a similar number do not know how to get involved in a way that could be helpful to other people.

4 Feb 2011

Rolling back Clean Air Act has life and death stakes

The Trust for America's Health warns that Chairman Fred Upton's (R-MI) draft bill could undermine the Clean Air Act and thereby harm millions of Americans.

4 Feb 2011

First blood-based diagnostic test for LAM

Circadian Technologies has announced today that in conjunction with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center it has begun offering its LAM diagnostic, which is offered as a laboratory test compliant with CAP (College of American Pathologists) /CLIA regulations.

2 Feb 2011

Vitamin D deficiency linked to lung disease, poor lung function: Study

For the study lead researcher Dr. Graeme Zosky a research fellow at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Subiaco, WA, compared two-week-old mice with vitamin D deficiency to normal mice. He noted that mice with a vitamin D deficiency had weaker lungs and that the difference was substantial.

1 Feb 2011

News briefs from February issue of journal Chest

New research shows that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD), with the largest prevalence seen in patients with concurrent connective tissue disease (CTD).

1 Feb 2011

New study links vitamin D deficiency with deficits in altered lung structure and function

Previously linked to the severity of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in humans, vitamin D deficiency has now been shown to alter lung structure and function in young mice. The new study, conducted by researchers in Australia, offers the first concrete evidence linking vitamin D deficiency with deficits in lung function and altered lung structure.

28 Jan 2011

Feeding regimens may improve respiratory health in premature babies with lung disease

Improving lung function in premature babies with a severe lung disease may be linked to their feeding regimen, according to a new University of Michigan study.

27 Jan 2011

Composer Fr-d-ric Chopin probably had temporal lobe epilepsy

The composer Fr-d-ric Chopin, who regularly hallucinated, probably had temporal lobe epilepsy throughout his short life, reveals research published online in Medical Humanities. Hallucinations typically feature in seizure disorders, they say.

25 Jan 2011

Breakthrough in understanding mechanisms behind hereditary alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency

Researchers from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and Beaumont Hospital have made a breakthrough in understanding the mechanisms behind the most severe form of hereditary emphysema and how protein treatments can improve the condition. The findings of this study may also lead to new treatments for patients with smoker's emphysema.

24 Jan 2011

KineMed's fibrosis research program featured in Nature Medicine

KineMed Inc.'s fibrosis research program, which aims to advance the discovery and development of drugs to treat this major disease, is featured in the January edition of Nature Medicine.

24 Jan 2011

FibroGen initiates FG-3019 open-label phase 2 study in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

FibroGen, Inc. today announced initiation of an open-label phase 2 study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of FG-3019, a human monoclonal antibody against connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), in individuals with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic, progressive, fatal lung disease for which there are no FDA-approved therapies.

13 Jan 2011

New study finds nitric oxide gas has no therapeutic value in most premature babies

A new Johns Hopkins Children's Center study challenges the widespread practice of treating premature babies with nitric oxide gas to prevent lung problems, neurological damage and death.

11 Jan 2011

Investigators receive two Alpha-1 Foundation grants for research on lung disorder

The Alpha-1 Foundation announced today that it has awarded two research grants to investigators whose research will contribute to our understanding of the causes and mechanisms that give rise to lung disease.

6 Jan 2011

American Heart Association partners in global effort to prepare for UN non-communicable diseases summit

The American Heart Association is participating in an international effort to prepare for a United Nations (UN) high-level summit next year on non-communicable diseases (NCDs). These diseases — mainly cardiovascular illnesses including stroke, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory conditions — were estimated to cause more than 60 percent of deaths worldwide in 2005.

5 Jan 2011

Chest: January news briefs

New research suggests that subcutaneous omalizumab is safe and effective an add-on treatment to corticosteroids for moderate to severe asthma in children and adults. Researchers from Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile performed a meta-analysis on eight trials where 1,883 patients received omalizumab and 1,546 received a placebo.

4 Jan 2011

Lancet editorial highlights similarities between current health challenges, those from 1911

"After a century of progress, the issues that medicine must tackle in the coming year aren't that different from the ones that faced doctors at the start of 1911, according to the observations" published Jan. 1 in a Lancet editorial, LiveScience reports (Parry, 12/30).