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Gates Foundation leads the charge against tuberculosis with Northeastern University

Northeastern University announced that Dr. Kim Lewis, Professor of Biology and Director of the Antimicrobial Center, is among the recipients of $280 million in grants the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has dedicated to help support the research and speed the development of TB vaccines, diagnostic tests, and treatments.

4 Oct 2007

Gene-chip studies provide new leads in treating abnormal lung development in premature newborns

Some 20 to 40 percent of extremely premature infants suffer abnormal lung development leading to bronchopulmonary dysplasia, a chronic lung disease that can cause long-term breathing problems.

4 Oct 2007

Social cheating in bacterial communication

Baseball had its steroids and Black Sox. Politics lived through Watergate. Wall Street has been riddled with insider trading scandals. And before we cast the first stone, who among us has never tried to get through an intersection on a yellow light?

25 Sep 2007

Moxifloxacin drug combo speeds up treatment of tuberculosis

A team of tuberculosis (TB) experts at Johns Hopkins and in Brazil have evidence that substituting the antibiotic moxifloxacin in the regimen of drugs used to treat the highly contagious form of lung disease could dramatically shorten the time needed to cure the illness from six months to four.

18 Sep 2007

Early childbearing, marital status, and women's health and mortality after age 50

Women who have their first child before age 20 are at a higher risk of chronic diseases and death when they reach middle age, a new study shows.

18 Sep 2007

New understandings of diagnosis, treatment and prevention of COPD

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) has released new standards for the diagnosis, management and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

17 Sep 2007

Link between nicotine and atherosclerosis

It's well known that smoking cigarettes increases risk for a host of serious health problems from cancer to heart disease. Now a new study from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City looks at how they do their dirty work by contributing to atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. The evidence points to nicotine, the addictive chemical in cigarettes.

11 Sep 2007

Ibuprofen effective in slowing down lung disease in children with cystic fibrosis

The results of a clinical trial, published in late August in the Journal of Pediatrics, indicates that, when used as part of routine therapy, high-dose ibuprofen is safe, and effective in slowing down lung disease in children with cystic fibrosis (CF).

5 Sep 2007

Culprit in 'popcorn lung' identified

Scientists have pinpointed an ingredient in microwaved popcorn that could be the culprit in cases of "popcorn lung", a disease which affects people who work in the popcorn making industry.

4 Sep 2007

Diacetyl is a respiratory hazard

Researchers in the Netherlands have identified a chemical agent that may be a, if not the, culprit in bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), or “popcorn worker's lung,” a severe occupational lung disease first noted in 2001 among workers at an American plant that makes microwaveable popcorn.

3 Sep 2007

New guidelines for childhood asthma recommend inhaled corticosteroids

New guidelines aimed at dealing with asthma have been released by government health experts in the United States.

30 Aug 2007

GSK supports emphasis on asthma control in treatment guidelines

New asthma treatment guidelines issued today urge healthcare professionals to first assess the severity of a patient's asthma to determine and administer initial treatment and then obtain regular assessments of the patient's level of asthma control.

29 Aug 2007

Do schools need emergency response equipment to deal with heart attacks?

A study by researchers in the U.S. has found that the incidence of heart attacks on school property is rare, and when it does occur most of the victims are adults.

29 Aug 2007

Air pollution linked to poor lung function growth in children

Children who are chronically exposed to higher levels of air pollution show marked deficiencies in lung growth and function, and not just short-term breathing problems, according to researchers in Mexico.

17 Aug 2007

Geriatric conditions and disability

A broad study of adults ages 65 and older has found that half of them have one or more conditions that can affect their ability to participate in activities of daily living, such as bathing and dressing on their own.

8 Aug 2007

Inhaled nitric oxide safe for very premature infants

A nationwide study led by researchers at UCSF provides evidence that inhaled nitric oxide is safe and effective for the prevention of the most common type of long-term lung disease of very premature infants.

7 Aug 2007

Medical residents score poorly in diagnosing and managing tuberculosis

When quizzed about their knowledge in diagnosing tuberculosis and deciding on the best treatment, medical residents in Baltimore and Philadelphia get almost half the answers wrong, according to a survey by TB disease experts at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere.

3 Aug 2007