Respiratory Disease News and Research

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Bird flu strikes Eastern India yet again as culling operations begin

On Tuesday, the federal government in India announced that it had ordered poultry farms in the eastern part of the country to cull chickens and destroy eggs to rein in an new outbreak of bird flu.

21 Sep 2011

WHO, WEF reports examine cost of treating and preventing, economic burden of NCDs

Low-income countries "could introduce measures to prevent and treat millions of cases of cancer, heart disease, diabetes and lung disease for a little as $1.20 per person per year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday" in a report released on the eve of the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) taking place this week in New York, Reuters reports.

20 Sep 2011

Chronic diseases could cost $47 trillion over the next 20 years: Report

A latest report by the World Economic Forum (WEF) suggests that the global economic impact of the five leading chronic diseases -- cancer, diabetes, mental illness, heart disease, and respiratory disease - could reach $47 trillion over the next 20 years.

19 Sep 2011

Non-communicable disease epidemic a global problem

Later this month the United Nations will convene a high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases. The world's global health news has been so dominated by infectious culprits - HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, influenza - that it's easy to forget just how big a toll conditions like diabetes, cancer and heart and lung disease take say experts.

9 Sep 2011

Genetically modified M. smegmatis vaccine shows promise against TB

An experimental vaccine composed of a genetically modified bacterium closely related to the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB) has been found to protect mice against TB infection, according to a study appearing online September 4 in the journal Nature Medicine.

7 Sep 2011

Kids around smokers lose more school days than peers

A new study says that children whose parents smoke tend to miss more school than their classmates with non-smoking parents — possibly because of a higher rate of respiratory infections.

6 Sep 2011

Discovery Labs files Complete Response to FDA for SURFAXIN to treat RDS in premature infants

Discovery Labs, Inc. today announced that, on September 2, 2011, it submitted its Complete Response to the 2009 Complete Response Letter issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for SURFAXIN(lucinactant) for the prevention of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in premature infants.

6 Sep 2011

ATS issues guidelines on use of FENO in different clinical settings

The American Thoracic Society has issued the first-ever guidelines on the use of fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FENO) that address when to use FENO and how to interpret FENO levels in different clinical settings.

3 Sep 2011

NCD summit negotiations must get back on track to help millions worldwide

With negotiations over the outcomes for the U.N. High-level Meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) stalled, "[i]t is feared that sound proposals for clear goals and timelines to tackle these devastating diseases are being systematically deleted, diluted and downgraded by some U.N. Member States and urgent action is needed to put the negotiations back on track, when they recommence on September 1," Rob Moodie, chair of Global Health at the Nossal Institute of Global Health, writes in the Crikey health blog "Croakey."

2 Sep 2011

Vitamin A supplements in children could save up to 600,000 lives a year: Study

Researchers have found that giving vitamin A supplements to children under the age of five in developing countries could save up to 600,000 lives a year. Writing in the British Medical Journal, UK and Pakistani experts assessed 43 studies involving 200,000 children, and found deaths were cut by 24% if children were given the vitamin. They add that it would also cut rates of measles and diarrhea.

30 Aug 2011

Bird flu on the rise again

Avian or bird flu is showing signs of a resurgence, while a mutant strain – that cannot be prevented by vaccination - could be spreading in Asia, the United Nations has warned. This mutant strain appeared in Vietnam and China and its risk to humans cannot be predicted, veterinary officials said.

30 Aug 2011

PLoS One publishes data from recent animal studies of NanoBio's intranasal RSV vaccine

NanoBio Corporation announced today that data from recent animal studies of its NanoStat-based intranasal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine have been published in PLoS One, an international peer-reviewed online publication.

25 Aug 2011

Amniotic fluid-derived stem cells show promise against lung disease

Two papers published in the current issue of Cell Transplantation, highlight the rich source of stem cells in human amniotic fluid that can be isolated and transplanted for therapeutic purposes.

25 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

NIH, NanoBio sign licensing agreement to develop vaccine against RSV infections

NanoBio Corporation today announced a licensing agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that represents a significant step forward in developing the first vaccine to protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections.

4 Aug 2011

One in six older people likely to have abnormal liver test and die from all causes

One in six people over 75 are likely to have at least one abnormal liver test and those that have two or more are twice as likely to die from cancer and 17 times more likely to die from liver disease, according to research in the August issue of Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

2 Aug 2011

Chicken pox vaccine reduced related deaths by 88%

The team of researchers found that although in 2006 a second dose was added to the vaccination roster, the decrease in deaths occurred largely during the time when just one shot was recommended. While chickenpox-related deaths are now relatively rare, the new two-dose regimen may eliminate them altogether, they said. The double dose will further reduce sick days and medical care associated with chickenpox and its complications, the study authors said.

25 Jul 2011

Breathing problems trouble U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, speculation about inhaled toxins

According to a new study some U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering unexplained breathing problems that may be related to exposure to unknown toxins.

21 Jul 2011

U.S. FDA approves 2011-2012 influenza vaccine formulation

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has approved the influenza vaccine formulation for the 2011-2012 vaccine that will be used by the six manufacturers licensed to produce and distribute influenza vaccine for the United States.

19 Jul 2011

Flu vaccine for 2011-12 season approved and ready

According to an announcement from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday, it has approved the new flu vaccine for the season beginning this year. Each year the FDA works with other federal agencies and global health experts to design a vaccine to protect against the three viral strains most likely to cause the flu.

19 Jul 2011