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Cutting-edge imaging research aims to map brain injuries

In the first study of its kind, researchers at Saint Louis University are recruiting patients for a clinical trial that will use cutting-edge imaging equipment to map the brain injuries of combat veterans and civilians, aiming to better understand the nature of their injuries.

5 Aug 2009

Study of pulmonary hypertension treatment in sickle cell patients stopped by NHLBI

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health has stopped a clinical trial testing a drug treatment for pulmonary hypertension in adults with sickle cell disease nearly one year early due to safety concerns.

28 Jul 2009

Costliest Medicare markets in Florida, New York, California

U.S. News & World Report examines cost, frequency, and outcomes studies on Medicare patients from the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice : "The Dartmouth research is particularly relevant to older Americans because it is based to a large extent on Medicare data, involving patients ages 65 and older.

8 Jul 2009

MedImmune funds study on RSV disease among premature infants

MedImmune continues to advance its commitment to pediatric research with today's announcement of the first observational prospective study designed to assess the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among preterm infants 32-to-35 weeks gestational age (GA) in outpatient settings during their first year of life.

30 Jun 2009

Soy consumption and risk of COPD and respiratory symptoms

People who eat lots of soy products have better lung function and are less likely to develop the smoking-associated lung disease COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). A study published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Respiratory Research has shown that consumption of a wide variety of soy products can be associated with a reduction in the risk of COPD and other respiratory symptoms.

28 Jun 2009

Direct link found between smoking and brain damage

New research which suggests a direct link between smoking and brain damage will be published in the July issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry. Researchers, led by Debapriya Ghosh and Dr Anirban Basu from the Indian National Brain Research Center (NBRC), have found that a compound in tobacco provokes white blood cells in the central nervous system to attack healthy cells, leading to severe neurological damage.

23 Jun 2009

Discovery of protein that helps determine progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Researchers say the protein - Serum surfactant protein A - is superior to other IPF predictors and could lead to better decisions about treatment and timing of lung transplantation.

4 Jun 2009

Childhood health disparities can have life-long health effects

Research indicates that physical and mental stress in childhood may have life-long adverse health effects and policy initiatives are needed to emphasize the importance of starting health promotion and disease prevention early in life, according to an article in the June 3 issue of JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association, a theme issue on child and adolescent health.

2 Jun 2009

Research may lead to improved TB vaccines

A team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators has cracked one of clinical medicine's enduring mysteries - what happened to the tuberculosis vaccine. The once-effective vaccine no longer prevents the bacterial lung infection that kills more than 1.7 million people worldwide each year.

19 May 2009

Safe for passengers with lung disease to travel by air

Oxygen levels while flying are substantially less than at ground level. Current guidelines for in-flight oxygen levels are sufficient to support the needs of passengers with non-obstructed lung disease.

19 May 2009

Start taking a vitamin with folic acid before pregnancy

Women who take folic acid supplements for at least one year before they become pregnant may cut their risk of having a premature baby by half, according to research published this week in the online journal, PLOS Medicine.

12 May 2009

New findings on COX-2 inhibitor side effects

In searching for a simple way to identify individuals with smoking-related lung injury, scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have stumbled upon a potential explanation for why the class of pain-relievers known as COX-2 inhibitors increases the risk of heart problems among users.

29 Apr 2009

Muscle deterioration in patients with lung disease connected to high carbon dioxide levels in blood

Muscle deterioration in patients with lung diseases might be a direct consequence of high carbon dioxide levels in their blood, an international team of researchers headed by Prof. Yosef Gruenbaum of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has found.

23 Apr 2009

Tijuana injection drug users on collision course for HIV and tuberculosis

A study by researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with Mexican researchers and health officials, shows that as many as 67 percent of injection drug users in Tijuana test positive for tuberculosis (TB) infection.

15 Apr 2009

Tobacco and marijuana increase risk of respiratory symptoms and COPD

Smoking both tobacco and marijuana increases the risk of respiratory symptoms and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), found a study in CMAJ.

13 Apr 2009

Discovery of gene that modifies severity of cystic fibrosis lung disease

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and colleagues, have identified a gene that modifies the severity of lung disease in people with cystic fibrosis, a lethal genetic condition.

2 Apr 2009

Addressing sleep problems could reduce the risk of suicidal behaviours

In a study presented at the World Psychiatric Association international congress "Treatments in Psychiatry," scientists found that the more types of sleep disturbances people had, the more likely they were to have thoughts of killing themselves, engage in planning a suicidal act or make a suicide attempt.

1 Apr 2009

New tool in the radiography approach will assist in earlier detection of asbestos-related diseases

Michael Harbut, M.D., MPH, co-director of the National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers (NCVAC) at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, MI, and chief of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine Wayne State University, announced the use of a new technology to aid in the diagnosis of asbestos-related lung disease.

30 Mar 2009

Immune cells play surprising role in cystic fibrosis lung damage

Immune cells once thought to be innocent bystanders in cystic fibrosis may hold the key to stopping patients' fatal lung disease.

16 Mar 2009

Research shed new light on anergia

With the help of a non-invasive method of monitoring human activity, doctors and researchers at Columbia University Medical Center are shedding new light on a syndrome affecting nearly 40 percent of older adults with heart failure: anergia.

11 Mar 2009