Respiratory Disease News and Research

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Flu worries continue

The flu season continues to affect more people. Experts have warned the Britons are still at risk as the surge in flu cases has still not yet peaked. The cases would increase they warn, over the next two to four weeks. World Health Organization released figures that show the rate of influenza-like illnesses is still low across continental Europe but has risen dramatically in Britain since the flu season began in October.

3 Jan 2011

Immunization with VLP vaccine results in functional, protective immune responses against RSV

Novavax, and scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, led by Dr. Trudy Morrison, published in the January 2011 issue of The Journal of Virology, a report indicating that a novel virus-like particle vaccine candidate against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) protects mice from a live virus challenge.

23 Dec 2010

New nanotechnology based technique to detect pneumonia within minutes

University of Georgia researchers have developed a technique that can diagnose a common type of pneumonia within minutes, potentially replacing existing tests that can take several days for results.

15 Dec 2010

AzTe and Zcube: Innovative treatment of chronic respiratory diseases

Zcube, Srl, the research venture of Italian pharmaceutical company Zambon Co., SpA, and Arizona Technology Enterprises (AzTE), the technology venturing arm of Arizona State University, have entered into a licensing agreement that will allow Zcube to use ASU technology to develop and commercialize next-generation medical devices that can better monitor and treat chronic respiratory diseases like asthma.

15 Dec 2010

Flu vaccination during pregnancy prevents infant hospitalization

A three-year study by Yale School of Medicine researchers has found that vaccinating pregnant women against influenza is over 90 percent effective in preventing their infants from being hospitalized with influenza in the first six months of life.

15 Dec 2010

Apartment living exposes kids to more second-hand smoke

A new study finds that kids who live in apartments have more tobacco contaminants in their blood than those who live in houses, even if smokers in the household refrain from smoking at home.

13 Dec 2010

Stroke falls from third to fourth leading cause of death

A new report, "Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2008," released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), says that for the first time in 50 years, stroke has fallen from the third to the fourth leading cause of death.

10 Dec 2010

School-based intervention program helps students with asthma better manage symptoms

A school-based intervention program helped New York City high school students with moderate to severe asthma better manage their symptoms, dramatically reducing the need for urgent care, including hospitalizations and emergency room visits, according to a study published online in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

9 Dec 2010

HHS, CCSC establish new national awards program

The US Department of Health and Human Services and the Critical Care Societies Collaborative have established a new national awards program. The National Awards Program to Recognize Achievements in Eliminating Healthcare-Associated Infections will annually recognize teams of critical care professionals and healthcare institutions that achieve excellence and notable, sustained improvements in preventing healthcare-associated infections, specifically infections in critical care.

4 Dec 2010

CSL Behring launches next generation HeliTrax System for Apple's devices

CSL Behring announced today the availability of the next generation HeliTrax System as part of a specially designed software platform for Apple's iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad devices. This enhanced system is designed to improve therapy management for people with hemophilia A who use CSL Behring's recombinant factor VIII (rFVIII).

2 Dec 2010

Paracetamol linked to childhood asthma: study

New Zealand researchers have found that young kids given fever medicine Paracetamol are twice as likely to develop asthma. The study is an observational one by the University of Otago Wellington researchers where the team looked at Paracetamol use in 505 infants and 914 five and six-year-olds.

28 Nov 2010

Pollen burst leads to 10 year spike in asthma cases

Melbourne hospitals are flooded with patients with respiratory problems in a phenomenon experts have described as “thunderstorm asthma”.

25 Nov 2010

Asbestos awareness important to prevent related cancer: Experts

Experts from Perth speculate Western Australia is yet to see the peak of asbestos-induced cancer, with renovators still failing to take proper precautions. According to director of the National Centre for Asbestos Related Diseases, Bruce Robinson, the next and third wave of mesothelioma patients would come out of those putting themselves and others at risk while taking on DIY home renovation projects.

22 Nov 2010

FDA grants orphan drug designation to Discovery's KL4 surfactant for CF treatment

Discovery Laboratories, Inc. today announced that the Office of Orphan Products Development of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted orphan drug designation to Discovery's KL4 surfactant for the treatment of cystic fibrosis (CF).

1 Nov 2010

New shuttlte program helps probe spaceflight-induced immune-system impairment

When the space shuttle Discovery lifts off on its final flight Nov. 2, its six astronauts will be joined by 16 rodent passengers on a historic mission of their own. Riding in special self-contained modules that automatically supply them with food and water, the mice will be part of a long-term NASA effort aimed at understanding why spaceflight makes humans more vulnerable to infection by viruses and bacteria.

30 Oct 2010

CSL Behring creates Interlaken Leadership Awards to support innovative immunoglobulin research

To demonstrate its continued commitment to innovative immunoglobulin (Ig) research, CSL Behring announced today it has created the Interlaken Leadership Awards. This global awards program will provide monetary grants to advance medical research and knowledge about the potential role of immunoglobulin therapy in the treatment of neurologic disorders.

29 Oct 2010

New eight-month pilot program to advance standards of care for people with schizophrenia

The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (National Council) today announced a new eight-month pilot program designed to advance standards of care for people living with schizophrenia. This initiative at 10 community behavioral health organizations nationwide is designed to improve the daily functioning of people with schizophrenia and raise expectations for what is achievable.

29 Oct 2010

Scientists identify potential new treatment for Nipah and Hendra viruses

Scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College have identified a potential new treatment for the Nipah and Hendra viruses, two lethal and emerging viruses for which there is currently no treatment or vaccine available. The approach could also lead to new therapies for measles, mumps and the flu. The new research appears in today's edition of the prestigious journal Public Library of Science (PLoS) Pathogens.

29 Oct 2010

Aradigm reports positive data from DRCFI, ARD-3150 Phase 2b bronchiectasis study

Aradigm Corporation today announced positive top line data from its recently concluded 6-month Phase 2b study (ORBIT-2) with Aradigm's once-daily dual release ciprofloxacin for inhalation (DRCFI, ARD-3150) in patients with non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis.

20 Oct 2010

Vivaglobin therapy effective for patients with primary immunodeficiency

Vivaglobin (subcutaneous immunoglobulin [IgG]) (SCIg) is an effective and safe initial therapy for treatment-naive patients with primary immunodeficiency (PI) and may offer an attractive alternative to intravenous IgG (IVIg) therapy in the newly diagnosed, according to data presented today at the XIVth Meeting of the European Society for Immunodeficiencies.

7 Oct 2010