Respiratory Disease News and Research

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Leading microbiologist warns of killer fungi’s increasing threat

A leading microbiologist has warned of the increasing threat that killer fungi poses to humans and the environment.

15 Jan 2015

Gene variations predispose mestizo Mexican population to develop severe form of COPD

A study by Ramcés Falfán-Valencia, researcher at the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, found that the mestizo Mexican population has a number of variations in certain genes that predispose them to develop the most severe form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

19 Dec 2014

Scientists to explore biology of human asthma by using slime mould

Scientists from Royal Holloway, University of London, will research the biology of human asthma by using a slime mould, an organism which has no lungs but could hold the key to new treatments.

12 Dec 2014

Excess mortality in schizophrenia ‘not attributable to antipsychotics’

The relationship between antipsychotic use and mortality in people with schizophrenia shows a clear U-shape curve, with the highest risk of death seen in those with no antipsychotic exposure, a Swedish cohort study has found.

9 Dec 2014

Novartis to highlight advances in blood, breast cancer research at ASH and SABCS 2014

Novartis will highlight more than 250 abstracts demonstrating advances in blood and breast cancer research at the upcoming American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting December 6-9, and CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) December 9-13.

2 Dec 2014

Researchers identify infection control gaps as major culprit in spread of MERS-CoV

Little is known about the often fatal virus known as Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), but researchers have identified gaps in infection control as a major culprit in all eleven published cases involving healthcare-associated transmission of the virus.

2 Dec 2014

Study shows effectiveness of VolitionRx’s NuQ test in detecting lung cancer in blood and sputum

VolitionRx Limited, a life sciences company focused on developing diagnostic tests for cancer and other conditions, today announced that data from its pilot lung cancer study will be presented at the Science for Business BioWin Day 2014, being held November 26, 2014 in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.

25 Nov 2014

Targeting bacterial motility to combat chronic respiratory disease

Mycoplasma gallisepticum causes chronic respiratory disease in birds. The illness particularly affects domestic chicken and turkey flocks. The bacteria are especially life-threatening for the animals when they occur in combination with other infections. In order to control the spread of the disease, poultry farms in the EU must be proven free from Mycoplasma gallisepticum or face being closed.

19 Nov 2014

UEA researcher awarded NIHR grant to reduce avoidable asthma deaths in the UK

Leading researcher Dr. Andrew Wilson from the University of East Anglia has been awarded £1.7million in funding from the National Institute for Health Research, enabling the Asthma UK Centre for Applied Research to identify people most at risk of an asthma attack in order to reduce the high number of avoidable asthma deaths.

19 Nov 2014

New program aims to educate COPD patients on how to manage their disease

The American Thoracic Society today announced a new program, produced with support from Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc., to provide materials to educate patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) about this progressive lung disease and how it can be managed.

11 Nov 2014

Study: Tonsil removal for children with sleep apnea decreases asthma severity

Surgical removal of the tonsils and adenoids in children suffering from sleep apnea is associated with decreased asthma severity, according to the first large study of the connection, published in the journal PLOS Medicine.

4 Nov 2014

CSL Behring strengthens global manufacturing capabilities to meet demand for lifesaving therapies

CSL Behring today announced a multi-year, $450 million two-site global capacity expansion – the latest in a series of recent production expansions to meet the growing need for its lifesaving and life-improving therapies that are used to treat patients with rare and serious medical disorders around the world.

8 Oct 2014

Sleeping with dentures increases pneumonia risk in elderly

Poor oral health and hygiene are increasingly recognized as major risk factors for pneumonia among the elderly. To identify modifiable oral health-related risk factors, lead researcher Toshimitsu Iinuma, Nihon University School of Dentistry, Japan, and a team of researchers prospectively investigated associations between a constellation of oral health behaviors and incidences of pneumonia in the community-living of elders 85 years of age or older.

8 Oct 2014

Tissue-level model of human airway musculature could pave way for patient-specific asthma treatments

The majority of drugs used to treat asthma today are the same ones that were used 50 years ago. New drugs are urgently needed to treat this chronic respiratory disease, which causes nearly 25 million people in the United States alone to wheeze, cough, and find it difficult at best to take a deep breath.

24 Sep 2014

Yale University researchers study potential new treatment to reverse effects of pulmonary fibrosis

Yale University researchers are studying a potential new treatment that reverses the effects of pulmonary fibrosis, a respiratory disease in which scars develop in the lungs and severely hamper breathing.

23 Sep 2014

Curie-Cancer, Inventiva launch Epicure project that aims to develop epigenetic targets for cancer

Curie-Cancer, the body responsible for developing Institut Curie’s industry partnership activities, and Inventiva, a drug discovery company that focuses on therapeutic approaches involving transcription factors and epigenetic targets, today announce the launch of the Epicure project, which has just received financial backing from France’s national research agency, the ANR [Agence Nationale pour la Recherche].

17 Sep 2014

Moms should be vaccinated for whooping cough during third trimester

Expectant moms should be vaccinated for pertussis, or whooping cough, during their third trimester, according to obstetricians at Loyola University Health System. Those in close contact with the infant also should be up to date with their whooping cough vaccine.

10 Sep 2014

Novel virus could be source of severe respiratory disease in ball pythons

Researchers have identified a novel virus that could be the source of a severe, sometimes fatal respiratory disease that has been observed in captive ball pythons since the 1990s. The work is published this week in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

9 Sep 2014

Different sub-groups of asthmatic children can be detected by electronic nose

An electronic nose can be used to successfully detect different sub-groups of asthmatic children, according to a new study.

8 Sep 2014

Researchers identify different types of tuberculosis using new genetic barcode

Doctors and researchers will be able to easily identify different types of tuberculosis (TB) thanks to a new genetic barcode devised by scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

3 Sep 2014