Breathing News and Research

RSS

No effective treatment yet for acute lung injury

Patients can essentially drown in their own fluids when trauma and infection prompt blood vessels to leak, flooding millions of air sacs in their lungs.

22 Aug 2011

Dog fecal material may constitute the dominant source of airborne bacteria

Bacteria from fecal material -- in particular, dog fecal material -- may constitute the dominant source of airborne bacteria in Cleveland's and Detroit's wintertime air, says a new University of Colorado Boulder study.

19 Aug 2011

Obese patients may be at increased risk for asthma misdiagnosis

The prevalence of physician-diagnosed asthma is increasing partly because of a link between asthma and obesity. Several factors lead to asthma-like symptoms in obese patients, including the mechanical effect of increased body mass index on lung volumes, which increases the work required for breathing.

19 Aug 2011

Study: U.S. health care workers often use complementary and alternative medicine

U.S. health care workers, especially doctors and nurses, use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) far more than do workers in other fields, according to a new study. CAM includes diverse therapies outside the realm of conventional medicine.

19 Aug 2011

New gout drug may help severely affected: Study

A new drug for gout could help very sick gout patients who don't get better with usual treatment, according to a new study. The research was designed and funded by the pharmaceutical company Savient, which markets the drug, called Krystexxa (pegloticase).

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

Fluctuations in brain signals explained: Spontaneous electrical background rhythms in the brain influence fMRI

Until now, brain scans obtained using fMRI – one of the most important imaging methods in use today – have been affected by fluctuations in the brain activity measured which could not be explained. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig and the Charité in Berlin have now shown that certain electric background rhythms in the brain, known as Alpha oscillations, alter the fMRI signal obtained with visual stimuli. To do this, they used a new approach in which quickly changing brain activity, which cannot be captured by the scanner, was measured using

16 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

Elderly women with sleep apnea more likely to develop dementia

Elderly women who suffer from sleep apnea -- characterized by disrupted breathing and sleep and a reduction in the intake of oxygen -- are about twice as likely to develop dementia in the next five years as those without the condition, according to a multi-center study led by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco.

10 Aug 2011

A diet of flaxseed shows protective effects against radiation in mice

Flax has been part of human history for well over 30,000 years, used for weaving cloth, feeding people and animals, and even making paint. Now, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that it might have a new use for the 21st century: protecting healthy tissues and organs from the harmful effects of radiation.

10 Aug 2011

Older women with sleep disordered breathing may face greater risk of dementia

Older women who have sleep-related breathing problems may be at greater risk of problems with mental function, including dementia, according to a new study in the August 10, 2011 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

10 Aug 2011

Continuous positive airway pressure machine more effective for sleep apnea patients

Among the treatments for obstructive sleep apnea, the effectiveness of a nighttime-breathing machine called a "CPAP" was backed by the strongest evidence, and a mouthpiece worn at night was also shown to be effective, according to a new report funded by HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

9 Aug 2011

University of Kentucky pioneers new use of artificial-lung technology

Surgeons at the University of Kentucky on Aug. 3 announced that they were among the first to use artificial-lung technology to demonstrate the feasibility of a lung transplant, using a device invented by two university faculty members, Dr. Joseph Zwischenberger and Dr. Dongfang Wang.

5 Aug 2011

FDA approves first scorpion antivenom

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Anascorp-, an antivenom produced in Mexico and tested in clinical trials conducted through the University of Arizona, for use in treating patients suffering the effects of scorpion sting.

5 Aug 2011

Allergist issues official mold air alert for the Midwest

Midwesterners awoke to the highest mold count for the season after a night of torrential rain and lightening strikes. An official air alert was issued by Joseph Leija, MD, allergist who performs the offiical allergy count for the Midwest for the National Allergy Bureau.

4 Aug 2011

Study: Compression stockings may improve OSA in patients with chronic venous insufficiency

Wearing compression stockings may be a simple low-tech way to improve obstructive sleep apnea in patients with chronic venous insufficiency, according to French researchers.

4 Aug 2011

Instituto Bioclon receives FDA approval for Anascorp to treat Centruroides scorpion sting

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Anascorp, the first specific treatment for a scorpion sting by Centruroides scorpions in the United States.

4 Aug 2011

Study evaluates humor and laughter in patients with COPD

Having a sense of humor is associated with improved emotional functioning and an enhanced quality of life among patients with a chronic lung illness, but the actual act of laughing out loud can reduce lung function, at least in the short term, research suggests.

3 Aug 2011

Study links indoor air cleaner use with improved asthma symptoms in children

A Johns Hopkins Children's Center study of Baltimore City children who have asthma and live with smokers shows that indoor air cleaners can greatly reduce household air pollution and lower the rates of daytime asthma symptoms to those achieved with certain anti-inflammatory asthma drugs.

3 Aug 2011

Illinois EPA declares August 1 as air pollution action day for Chicago

In addition to the "Monday back-to-work blues" trouble breathing, fatigue, headaches and congestion may be what many Chicagoans experience today due to toxic air quality. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has declared an air pollution action day for today, August 1, for the greater Chicago metropolitan area.

2 Aug 2011