Lungs News and Research

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Environmental tobacco smoke drastically increases an infant's risk for developing allergic rhinitis

University of Cincinnati (UC) epidemiologists say it's environmental tobacco smoke--not the suspected visible mold--that drastically increases an infant's risk for developing allergic rhinitis by age 1.

17 May 2006

Novel animal model of lung adenocarcinoma

Drs. Katerina Politi, Harold Varmus and colleagues at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York have developed a novel animal model of lung adenocarcinoma that will be of great use in testing the efficacy of targeted therapies against human lung cancer.

17 May 2006

Panel calls for expanded oversight of vitamin and mineral supplements

An independent panel convened this week by the NIH Office of Medical Applications of Research and the Office of Dietary Supplements assessed the available evidence on the safety and effectiveness of multivitamin/minerals (MVMs).

17 May 2006

Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 may play role in infection and dry eye

Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor Type 2 (PAI-2), a protein found in various cell types including the skin, has been discovered in the tissue covering the eye and may have future clinical implications in various pathologies of the ocular surface such as eye infection or dry eye.

17 May 2006

No link between low air-pressure on long-haul flights and DVT

Researchers simulating conditions of reduced cabin pressure and reduced oxygen levels, such as may be encountered during an 8-hour aeroplane flight, found no increase in the activation of the blood clotting system among healthy individuals

17 May 2006

Well-functioning lungs reduce risk of dementia

A middle-aged woman with well-functioning lungs runs less risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

17 May 2006

Using probiotics is a safe and effective way to prevent asthma in children

In the first effort of its kind in the United States, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco have launched a study to determine whether giving active probiotic supplements to infants can delay or prevent asthma in children.

17 May 2006

Female non-smokers no more at risk of lung cancer than males

To date few studies have examined the age, sex, and race-specific risks of lung cancer incidence and death among people who have never smoked tobacco.

17 May 2006

DVT and long haul flights - air pressure and oxygen levels not the culprits

According to new research from the UK the reduced air pressure and oxygen levels experienced by travellers on long flights are not responsible for the formation of deadly blood clots often referred to as "economy class syndrome".

17 May 2006

Women may lack lung cancer signs

New research shows that many women recently diagnosed with lung cancer have normal lung function and perform better on lung function tests compared with their male counterparts.

16 May 2006

Common genetic variation makes some people more susceptible to coronary heart disease

Caucasians who carry this polymorphism, named K55R, were at significantly higher risk of coronary heart disease, independent of other risk factors, like cigarette smoking, diabetes, and hypertension.

16 May 2006

A review of percutaneous kyphoplasty

A procedure that fills in fractured vertebrae with injected cement has not been shown to improve a person's back pain or quality of life, according to a new analysis of studies.

16 May 2006

K55R polymorphism gene variation linked to coronary heart disease

New research at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, found that a common genetic variation makes some people more susceptible to coronary heart disease (CHD).

12 May 2006

Chantix new quit smoking drug approved

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for the sale of the first smoking cessation drug in almost ten years.

11 May 2006

Inhaled corticosteroids can reduce breathing problems in children at high risk for asthma

Studies in older children and adults show that the most effective long-term control medicine for persistent asthma (symptoms more than two days a week or more than twice a month at night) is inhaled corticosteroids, which reduce airway swelling and help prevent asthma symptoms (e.g., asthma attacks).

10 May 2006

Local clinical quality monitoring for detection of excess operative deaths

If convicted murderer Dr Harold Shipman had been working as a surgeon or anaesthetist at a specialist UK heart hospital in Cambridge, increased patient death rates would have alerted clinical audit staff after eight to ten months, according to research in the latest issue of Anaesthesia.

10 May 2006

Promising chemo, therapeutic viruses, cutting-edge surgery debut at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Brain tumor specialists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center are poised on the brink of a new era.

10 May 2006

Air purifiers increase ozone levels exceeding health standards

In a small, poorly ventilated room, an indoor air purifier that produces even a few milligrams of ozone per hour can create an ozone level that exceeds public health standards, researchers at UC Irvine have found.

10 May 2006

Scientists detect cancer genes with new algorithm

Researchers at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences have developed a new algorithm that enhances the ability to detect a cancer gene, and have applied their algorithm to map the set of tumor-suppressor genes involved in lung cancer.

10 May 2006

Women with lung cancer have better lung function than men

New research shows that many women recently diagnosed with lung cancer have normal lung function and perform better on lung function tests compared with their male counterparts.

9 May 2006