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New ACS report outlines 21 challenges and needs for global tobacco control

A new American Cancer Society report outlines 21 challenges and needs for global tobacco control, covering the wide range of issues to be addressed and expertise needed to reduce the rising tide of tobacco use worldwide, particularly in the low- and middle-income nations that are the target of the multinational tobacco industry.

23 Jan 2010

Research shows strong links between COPD and heart function

A common lung condition, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) diminishes the heart's ability to pump effectively even when the disease has no or mild symptoms, according to research published in the Jan. 21 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

21 Jan 2010

Study: Heart's ability to pump effectively is diminished among people with common lung disease

A new study from Columbia University Medical Center researchers, has found that the heart's ability to pump effectively is diminished among people with a common lung disease, even in people with no or mild symptoms.

21 Jan 2010

Repeated exposure to tobacco smoke makes lung cancer much worse

Repeated exposure to tobacco smoke makes lung cancer much worse, and one reason is that it steps up inflammation in the lung. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have found that mice with early lung cancer lesions that were repeatedly exposed to tobacco smoke developed larger tumors - and developed tumors more quickly - than unexposed animals.

19 Jan 2010

FDA: Data from Spiriva HandiHaler do not support increased risks for stroke, heart attack or death

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that data from a recent review of the Spiriva HandiHaler, a long-acting respiratory treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), do not support an increased risk of stroke, heart attack, or death in patients using the medicine.

18 Jan 2010

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi Pasteur partner in development of KB001 biologic for Pa infections

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced an agreement with Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group, for the development and commercialization of KB001, an investigational new biologic for the treatment or prevention of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) infections. Sanofi Pasteur will be responsible for the development and commercialization of KB001 and initially focus on hospital indications, including the prevention of Pa pneumonias in mechanically ventilated patients.

11 Jan 2010

Immune cells causes inflammation in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy

A cell type that causes significant scarring in lung disease appears to have a similar effect in Graves' disease, University of Michigan Health System researchers have found. The cells, called fibrocytes, are present at a higher than normal frequency in patients with Graves' disease, according to a new study, the first to associate fibrocytes with this autoimmune disease.

9 Jan 2010

Fibrocytes associated with Graves' disease

9 Jan 2010

Reuters examines TB in China

Reuters examines efforts to control tuberculosis in China, which has the "world's second largest tuberculosis burden after India." The news service writes, "China has 4.5 million TB cases currently; and each year 1.4 million people fall ill with the disease. TB killed 160,000 people in China in 2008, according to the World Health Organization."

7 Jan 2010

New survival prediction equation may impact clinical trials for treating PAH

Setting out to determine the survival of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center and their colleagues also discovered that an equation used for more than 20 years to predict survival is outdated.

6 Jan 2010

Elevated diabetes risk associated with smoking cessation, but lifestyle changes can help combat risk

Cigarette smoking is a well-known risk factor for type 2 diabetes, but new research from Johns Hopkins suggests that quitting the habit may actually raise diabetes risk in the short term.

5 Jan 2010

H1N1 vaccine available at Walgreens pharmacies and Take Care Clinics

Every Walgreens pharmacy, every day. The once-scarce H1N1 vaccine is now available daily at all of the more than 7,100 Walgreens pharmacies and 350 Take Care Clinics throughout the country.

5 Jan 2010

CPF reports success in advocacy, research support and awareness of PF

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) calls 2009 a year of success in advocacy, research support and awareness, even in a year plagued by the economic recession. PF is a fatal disease that has no known cause, no FDA-approved treatment, and no cure.

30 Dec 2009

CPF, ATS and health groups launch campaign to raise awareness on lung health

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) announced today it is joining with the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and lung health organizations around the globe for 2010: The Year of the Lung, a multi-faceted campaign that aims to raise awareness about the importance of lung health, generate social and political support for preventing and treating lung disease and encouraging increased public and private funding for lung disease research and development.

24 Dec 2009

Majority of Australians think H1N1 vaccination is not necessary

Australia risks a serious swine flu (H1N1 influenza virus) outbreak with two-thirds (65 per cent) of unprotected Australians stating they're unlikely to get vaccinated against the disease in the next 12 months, according to an MBF Healthwatch Poll.

23 Dec 2009

Rifampicin resistant tuberculosis

Scientists have identified a strain of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that thrives in the presence of rifampin, a front-line drug in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bacterium was identified in a patient in China and is described in a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Chongqing Pulmonary Hospital, Lanzhou University and Fudan University.

22 Dec 2009

Scientists identify new therapeutic approach for overcoming emphysema

Individuals with single-gene mutations that mean they have abnormally low levels of the protein alpha-1 antitrypsin are highly susceptible to emphysema, a progressive lung disease that causes severe shortness of breath.

22 Dec 2009

Oral health care critical for pregnant women and infants

Most pregnant women in America don't see their dentists for important oral health care nearly as often as recommended, which can cause ongoing health problems for both mother and her baby.

19 Dec 2009

Genetic variant associated with reduced risk of COPD

What: Researchers have discovered evidence that suggests a genetic variant may be associated with better preserved lung function among children with asthma and adults who smoke, according to a new study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), which is part of the National Institutes of Health.

18 Dec 2009

BUSM Pulmonary Center awarded $1.4M grant to derive stem cells and lung progenitors from lung disease patients

Boston University School of Medicine's (BUSM) Pulmonary Center has received a two-year $1.4 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to derive stem cells and lung progenitors from patients with lung disease.

16 Dec 2009