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Indicators of poor preoperative health predict risk of major medical complications

For older adults undergoing surgery for spinal stenosis, some simple indicators of poor preoperative health predict a high risk of major medical complications, reports a study in the September 1 issue of Spine. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

4 Sep 2013

BP and headache drug effectively speeds up treatment of TB

Infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins have found, in studies in mice, that a drug better known as a treatment for high blood pressure and headaches effectively speeds up treatment of TB when added to the standard, daily antibiotic regimen. Test animals were cured in four months instead of the usual six.

30 Aug 2013

Researchers discover additional cystic fibrosis-causing mutations

Of the over 1,900 errors already reported in the gene responsible for cystic fibrosis, it is unclear how many of them actually contribute to the inherited disease. Now a team of researchers reports significant headway in figuring out which mutations are benign and which are deleterious. In so doing, they have increased the number of known CF-causing mutations from 22 to 127, accounting for 95 percent of the variations found in patients with CF.

26 Aug 2013

BESTCILIA project aims to improve screening, treatment of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia is mainly a lung disease: a rare, genetically heterogeneous disorder resulting from dysfunction of small hair-like organelles (cilia) that clean the upper and lower airways. It can also affect multiple organs beside the respiratory system, and may cause serious impairment and lower quality of life. Its prevalence is estimated to be about 1 in 16,000.

26 Aug 2013

Researchers request all countries to record smoking on death registries

Researchers today [Friday 23 August] call for official death registries in all countries to record whether the dead person was a smoker, in a research Article published in The Lancet.

23 Aug 2013

Study confirms exposure to arsenic in drinking water can impair lung function

A new study confirms that exposure to low to moderate amounts of arsenic in drinking water can impair lung function. Doses of about 120 parts per billion of arsenic in well water-about 12 times the dose generally considered safe-produced lung damage comparable to decades of smoking tobacco. Smoking, especially by males, made arsenic-related damage even worse.

23 Aug 2013

Twice-daily KALYDECO improves lung function in people with cystic fibrosis

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Australia) Pty Ltd., announces the presentation of data from KALYDECO (ivacaftor) studies at the 10th Australasian Cystic Fibrosis Conference in Auckland, New Zealand, August 17 – 20, 2013, which further demonstrate the benefits of the medicine in people with cystic fibrosis ages 6 and older who have at least one copy of the G551D mutation in the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene.

21 Aug 2013

Investigators link acute viral infections to development of COPD

Investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have described another link in the chain of events that connect acute viral infections to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

16 Aug 2013

Chronic exposure biomass fuel smoke can cause cardiovascular problems

Rural households in developing countries often rely on burning biomass, such as wood, animal dung and waste from agricultural crops, to cook and heat their homes. The practice is long known to cause lung disease, but a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine links the resulting smoke to cardiovascular problems, including an increase in artery-clogging plaques, artery thickness and higher blood pressure.

8 Aug 2013

Findings may allow lower doses of chemotherapy, limit toxic side effects

In research recently published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, Alessandro Vindigni, Ph.D., associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Saint Louis University, discovered how cancer cells respond to the damage caused by an important class of anti-cancer drugs, topoisomerase I inhibitors.

7 Aug 2013

Great-grandmother's cigarette habit could be cause of child's asthma

With some 300 million people around the world living with asthma, a study by Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) researchers that was released ahead-of- print found for the first time that maternal smoking can cause the third generation of offspring to suffer from the chronic lung disease.

6 Aug 2013

ATS releases clinical practice guidelines on management of childhood ILD in infants

The American Thoracic Society has released new clinical practice guidelines on the classification, evaluation and management of childhood interstitial lung disease in infants.

1 Aug 2013

Miniscule signaling molecule plays critical role in certain acute and chronic diseases

Scientists seeking to harness the healing power of a miniscule signaling molecule that plays a critical role in certain acute and chronic diseases have been awarded a Program Project Grant (PPG) of nearly $10 million by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

1 Aug 2013

Patients with melanoma brain metastases can be treated with large doses of interleukin-2

In a retrospective study, Saint Louis University researchers have found that patients with melanoma brain metastases can be treated with large doses of interleukin-2 (HD IL-2), a therapy that triggers the body's own immune system to destroy the cancer cells.

31 Jul 2013

CHMP gives positive opinion for approval of once-daily QVA149 for treatment of COPD

Sosei Group Corporation confirms the information released by Novartis that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion for approval of once-daily Ultibro® Breezhaler®, as a maintenance bronchodilator treatment to relieve symptoms in adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

29 Jul 2013

Cepheid, American Lung Association partner to promote TB awareness in U.S.

Cepheid and the American Lung Association today announced a partnership to promote tuberculosis-related awareness in the U.S. and the need for improved TB diagnostics.

23 Jul 2013

Smokers who seem healthy have damaged airway cells similar to cells found in aggressive lung cancer

Smokers who've received a clean bill of health from their doctor may believe cigarettes haven't harmed their lungs. However, researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have found that even smokers who seem healthy have damaged airway cells, with characteristics similar to cells found in aggressive lung cancer.

17 Jul 2013

Saltwater-treatment for cystic fibrosis: an interview with Matthew Allen, Program Director at Cambridge Consultants

A group of Australian researchers, back in 2006, noted that there was a link between the severity of cystic fibrosis between sufferers who surfed, and sufferers who did not surf – and obviously Australia is a good place to spot that.

4 Jul 2013

Updated EULAR recommendations for management of rheumatoid arthritis

The European League Against Rheumatism has released updated recommendations for the management of RA. According to this latest guidance, treatment with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs should be initiated as soon as a diagnosis of RA is made, with the aim of reaching a target of remission or low disease activity in every patient.