Lungs News and Research

RSS

Concerted effort yields significant progress in reducing depression, HIV/AIDS, and osteoporosis in women

A concerted effort to boost research on women's health over the last two decades has lessened the burden of disease and reduced deaths among women due to cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, and cervical cancer, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. The effort has yielded less but still significant progress in reducing the effects of depression, HIV/AIDS, and osteoporosis on women, added the committee that wrote the report.

24 Sep 2010

Progress in realizing potential of satellite measurements of air pollution

In many developing countries, the absence of surface-based air pollution sensors makes it difficult, and in some cases impossible, to get even a rough estimate of the abundance of a subcategory of airborne particles that epidemiologists suspect contributes to millions of premature deaths each year. The problematic particles, called fine particulate matter (PM2.5), are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, about a tenth the fraction of human hair. These small particles can get past the body's normal defenses and penetrate deep into the lungs.

24 Sep 2010

Researchers discover new signaling pathway for cell development

Researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered a new cell signaling pathway that controls cell growth and development, a pathway that, when defective, helps promote the formation of several major forms of human cancer, including lymphoma and leukemia.

24 Sep 2010

UC San Diego receives grant to study hypoxia susceptibility

Gabriel G. Haddad, MD, chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego has received a $10 million grant from the National Institute of Health's Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

24 Sep 2010

New federal funds to create first national patient registry for pulmonary fibrosis

During the 8th annual National Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) Awareness Week, Sept. 11 to 18, the Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) met with over 45 legislators, both Representatives and Senators, and as of this date there are 139 House co-sponsors for the Pulmonary Fibrosis Research Enhancement Act (PFREA) to fund research on this deadly disease.

24 Sep 2010

NCCN launches series of guidelines on cancer treatment

Patients with cancer and their caregivers have a new resource to help them navigate the maze of treatment options that they often confront. Today at the NCCN Patient Advocacy Summit in Washington D.C., the National Comprehensive Cancer Network launched its new series of NCCN Guidelines for Patients, consumer-friendly translations of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology outlining appropriate cancer treatment.

24 Sep 2010

Researchers discover molecular signature to predict TB infection

Dallas scientists recently discovered a molecular signature in the blood of patients with tuberculosis (TB) that may explain why some people develop an active TB infection, while others exposed to the bacteria which causes the dangerous respiratory virus do not.

24 Sep 2010

Breast cancer incidence drops, linked to decline in HRT use

A new Canadian study shows that a significant drop in breast cancer incidence among post-menopausal women from 2002 to 2004 coincided with a sharp drop in hormone replacement therapy (HRT) use during the same period. This is the first study to show the link between HRT use and breast cancer among Canadian women.

24 Sep 2010

Researchers report MALAT1 gene regulates pre-mRNA splicing in cancer

Researchers report this month that MALAT1, a long non-coding RNA that is implicated in certain cancers, regulates pre-mRNA splicing a critical step in the earliest stage of protein production. Their study appears in the journal Molecular Cell.

24 Sep 2010

Biothera receives SBIR award to evaluate therapeutic potential of Imprime PGG drug in pancreatic cancer

Biothera has received a National Cancer Institute SBIR award to evaluate the therapeutic potential of its drug candidate Imprime PGG in pancreatic cancer, the company announced today.

24 Sep 2010

Antipsychotics slightly raise risk for blood clots

Antipsychotics or medications that are used to treat psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are reported to raise the risk of dangerous blood clots.

23 Sep 2010

Gersak develops Convergent Procedure for atrial fibrillation

During the recent Atrial Fibrillation Session of the Techno College at the European Association of Cardiac Thoracic Surgeons in Geneva, Switzerland, Professor Borut Gersak, Head of Cardiac Surgery from University Medical Center in Ljubljana, Slovenia challenged his audience of more than 1,000 medical professionals to think differently about existing atrial fibrillation surgical approaches.

23 Sep 2010

NCI selects Caliper's Quantum FX microCT system to study tumor models in lung cancer

Caliper Life Sciences, Inc., a leading provider of tools and services for drug discovery and life sciences research, today announced that the National Cancer Institute has purchased Caliper's Quantum FX, a stand-alone microCT system for pre-clinical imaging, to study spontaneous tumor models in lung cancer.

23 Sep 2010

Implantation of new bioprosthetic-tissue valve in patients with severe aortic stenosis saves lives

Implantation of a new bioprosthetic-tissue valve into the hearts of patients who have severe aortic stenosis and are too sick or too old for open-heart surgery has been found to both save lives and improve the quality of those lives, according to a new multicenter study, to be published online at 2 p.m. Pacific time today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

23 Sep 2010

FDA and EMA accept regulatory submissions of vandetanib for advanced medullary thyroid cancer

AstraZeneca today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) have accepted regulatory submissions for review of the investigational drug vandetanib in the treatment of patients with advanced medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). The FDA also granted priority review status for the new drug application and set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of 7 January 2011.

23 Sep 2010

High selenium intake associated with lower rates of bladder cancer in women

Scientists in Spain have found that adding a can of tuna or other fish to our shopping lists could help protect us against bladder cancer.

23 Sep 2010

Cardiovascular Innovation Institute awarded NIH grant to develop implantable pump for single ventricle heart disease

Researchers in the Cardiovascular Innovation Institute, a partnership between the University of Louisville and Jewish Hospital, in collaboration with researchers at Indiana University and Purdue University, have received a $2,027,059 grant from the National Institutes of Health to further develop an implantable pump that could dramatically improve the lives of patients with single ventricle heart disease.

23 Sep 2010

Researchers develop drug to eliminate disease transmission by cough

What if there was a drug that could completely eliminate airborne disease transmission that occurs when someone coughs. Researchers at the University of Alberta believe they have found a way to achieve this.

23 Sep 2010

U.S. joins whistleblower suit against Pfizer for drug marketing

The Wall Street Journal: "The Justice Department is trying to take the lead in a lawsuit accusing Pfizer Inc.'s Wyeth unit of improperly promoting an organ-transplant drug for unauthorized uses and paying illegal kickbacks to doctors. The lawsuit was filed by two former Wyeth sales representatives who were responsible for promoting Rapamune, an immunosuppressant used to prevent the body's rejection of transplanted kidneys.

23 Sep 2010

AstraZeneca to use THEW database for cardiac safety evaluation

AstraZeneca purchased a one-year membership to gain access to an international repository of data designed to aid industry and academic researchers developing new technologies to improve cardiac safety.

23 Sep 2010