Respiratory News and Research

RSS

Weight loss stops obstructive sleep apnea

For sufferers of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a new study shows that losing weight is perhaps the single most effective way to reduce OSA symptoms and associated disorders, according to a new study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine , one of the American Thoracic Society's three peer-reviewed journals.

8 Feb 2009

Emphysema linked to accelerated aging protein

A University of Iowa study is apparently the first to make a connection between a rare, hereditary premature aging disease and cell damage that comes from smoking.

8 Feb 2009

Super-fine oil-and-water emulsion protects against superbugs that kill cystic fibrosis patients

University of Michigan scientists report highly encouraging evidence that a super-fine oil-and-water emulsion, already shown to kill many other microbes, may be able to quell the ravaging, often drug-resistant infections that cause nearly all cystic fibrosis deaths.

5 Feb 2009

More children need medical help for respiratory syncytial virus than previously known

More than 2 million children with Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) are seen in hospitals, emergency rooms and doctors' offices in the United States every year -- many more than doctors know.

5 Feb 2009

FDA grants priority review of Cinryze C1 inhibitor as treatment for acute attacks of hereditary angioedema

ViroPharma Incorporated has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted priority review for Cinryze C1 Inhibitor (human) as a treatment for acute attacks of Hereditary Angioedema (HAE).

5 Feb 2009

Ebola Reston virus found in pigs and humans in the Philippines

On 23 January 2009, the Government of the Philippines announced that a person thought to have come in contact with sick pigs had tested positive for Ebola Reston Virus (ERV) antibodies (IgG).

5 Feb 2009

Discovery of new cause of ozone wheezing and potential treatments

Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, and Duke University have discovered a cause of airway irritation and wheezing after exposure to ozone, a common urban air pollutant.

3 Feb 2009

New vaccine developed for preventing human adenovirus type-3d virus

Common colds typically cause a week of sneezing, aches and pains and then fade away leaving only a sore nose and a few used sick days behind.

2 Feb 2009

Bipolar disorders linked to increased risk of early death from medical illness

Bipolar disorders appear to increase the risk of early death from a medical illness, according to a literature review study published as the lead article this week in the journal Psychiatric Services.

2 Feb 2009

Top hospitals have 27 percent lower mortality: Annual HealthGrades study

Medicare patients treated at top-rated hospitals nationwide across the most common Medicare diagnoses and procedures are 27 percent less likely to die, on average, than those admitted to all other hospitals, according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

29 Jan 2009

Lung transplants: Doing more is better and safer

Transplant surgeons at Johns Hopkins have evidence that hospitals performing at least 20 lung transplant procedures a year, on average, have the best overall patient survival rates and lowest number of deaths from the complex surgery.

29 Jan 2009

Eating fast food cancels out benefits of breastfeeding in preventing asthma

Many studies have shown that breastfeeding appears to reduce the chance of children developing asthma.

29 Jan 2009

Anticholinergic medications linked to cognitive decline in seniors

A study published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggested that the use of certain medications in elderly populations may be associated with cognitive decline.

27 Jan 2009

New treatment for latent form of tuberculosis

Patients who are infected with the latent form of tuberculosis (TB) show no symptoms and are not contagious, yet they pose the biggest challenge when it comes to controlling the disease.

23 Jan 2009

Lou Gehrig's disease in humans has genetic links to degenerative myelopathy in dogs

An incurable, paralyzing disease in humans is now genetically linked to a similar disease in dogs.

21 Jan 2009

Oral steroids ineffective treatment for wheezing in children

A new study from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry has found that a common treatment for wheezing in preschool children is no more effective than a placebo.

21 Jan 2009

Cream containing tretinoin associated with death in clinical trial, but relationship does not appear causal

Patients using a cream containing tretinoin, a retinoid commonly used to treat acne and other conditions, appeared more likely to die than those using a placebo in a clinical trial that was halted early as a result, according to a report in the January issue of Archives of Dermatology.

19 Jan 2009