Lungs News and Research

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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

miR-21 molecule plays early and important role in nonsmoking lung cancer

The cause of lung cancer in never-smokers is poorly understood, but a study led by investigators at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and at the National Cancer Institute has identified a molecule believed to play an early and important role in its development.

28 Jul 2009

Repeated stress signals made in cells with metabolism-associated disease encourage the growth of invading bacteria

Mitochondrial diseases disrupt the power generating machinery within cells and increase a person's susceptibility to bacterial infection, particularly in the lungs or respiratory tract.

28 Jul 2009

Coronary calcium scoring may predict heart attack risk

Researchers may be able to predict future severe cardiac events in patients with known, stable coronary artery disease (CAD) using coronary calcium scoring, according to a study published in the online edition of Radiology.

28 Jul 2009

New system may allow use of xenon to protect newborn brain

Breathing xenon gas can help protect the infant brain from damage caused by oxygen deprivation, but the xenon's high cost and scarcity has precluded its widespread use.

27 Jul 2009

Ozone exposure even at normal levels has negative effect on lung function

Ozone exposure, even at levels deemed safe by current clean air standards, can have a significant and negative effect on lung function, according to researchers at the University of California Davis.

26 Jul 2009

Emphysema severity directly linked to exposure to respirable coal mine dust

Coal dust exposure is directly linked to severity of emphysema in smokers and nonsmokers alike, according to new research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

26 Jul 2009

Surgery after chemotherapy and radiation can be an option for patients advanced lung cancer

In recent years, oncologists have debated whether patients with a certain type of advanced lung cancer would benefit from surgery.

26 Jul 2009

Discovery of key event in prostate cancer progression

A study led by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reveals how late-stage, hormone-independent prostate tumors gain the ability to grow without need of hormones.

24 Jul 2009

Airway cells are chemosensory

The same mechanism that helps you detect bad-tasting and potentially poisonous foods may also play a role in protecting your airway from harmful substances, according to a study by scientists at the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine.

24 Jul 2009

Compact gamma camera for prostate cancer imaging

The U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and Hybridyne Imaging Technologies, Inc., of Toronto, Canada, have won a 2009 R&D 100 Award for developing a compact gamma camera for high-resolution imaging of prostate cancer.

23 Jul 2009

Johns Hopkins-designed animal tuberculosis "tracker" to speed drug and vaccine studies

Johns Hopkins researchers have developed a novel way to monitor in real time the behavior of the TB bacterium in mouse lungs noninvasively pinpointing the exact location of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The new monitoring system is expected to speed up what is currently a slow and cumbersome process to test the safety and efficacy of various TB drug regimens and vaccines in animals. Plans are already under way for developing a similar system to monitor TB disease in humans.

23 Jul 2009

Some blood pressure drugs may help protect against dementia, study shows

A particular class of medication used to treat high blood pressure could protect older adults against memory decline and other impairments in cognitive function, according to a newly published study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

23 Jul 2009

Miglustat shows promise for cystic fibrosis

Miglustat is a drug currently under phase 2 clinical trials on patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (1). Its potential for treating the disease was discovered in 2006 thanks to the work of Frédéric Becq's team at the Institute of Cell Physiology and Biology (CNRS/Université de Poitiers), funded by the associations Vaincre la Mucoviscidose, MucoVie66, La Pierre Le Bigaut and ABCF2.

21 Jul 2009

Rates of secondhand smoke exposure high among college students

Secondhand smoke (SHS) is not only a nuisance, but a potential health concern for many college students, and administrators should be taking steps to reduce students' exposure, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

21 Jul 2009

UT Southwestern Medical Center grant aids study of lung cancer in people who never smoked

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center are among an elite group of cancer scientists to share a $2 million grant to find biomarkers for lung cancer that develops in people who have never smoked.

21 Jul 2009

Discovery of new molecular pathway for targeting cancer

A UCLA study has identified a way to turn off a key signaling pathway involved in physiological processes that can also stimulate the development of cancer and other diseases. The findings may lead to new treatments and targeted drugs using this approach.

20 Jul 2009

New drug compound Salirasib brings hope to pancreatic cancer patients

Every year, 42,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Few live very long, and less than 5% are still alive five years after diagnosis.

20 Jul 2009

Researchers discover how flu damages lung tissue

A protein in influenza virus that helps it multiply also damages lung epithelial cells, causing fluid buildup in the lungs, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Southern Research Institute . Publishing online this week in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the researchers say the findings give new insight into how flu attacks the lungs and provides targets for new treatments.

19 Jul 2009

Thalidomide does not improve survival in small cell lung cancer

Treating patients with thalidomide in combination with chemotherapy for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) did not improve their survival but did increase their risk of blood clots, according to a new study published online July 16 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

17 Jul 2009