Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Guidelines to help protect vulnerable populations from flu

While it is important to get vaccinated against the flu virus as early as possible, it is never too late to reap the benefits of this vaccine. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the peak months for the spread of the flu virus are January and February and the season can last into mid-May.

26 Oct 2012

Winter safety tips for older adults

Winter is a special time for celebration. It should also be a time for added caution if you or someone in your family is an older adult. It is the season for falls, slips on icy streets and other dangers that can be especially harmful for older adults.

25 Oct 2012

Tips to help turn your alligator skin into suede

All winter flakes are not made of snow. Cold weather, with its low relative humidity, wreaks havoc on our skin, making it dry and flaky. Skin dries out if it's deprived of moisture and this dryness often aggravates itchiness, resulting in a condition commonly referred to as "winter itch."

25 Oct 2012

CINJ makes experts available during National Lung Cancer Awareness Month

According to the American Cancer Society, nearly 6,000 new cases of lung cancer are expected to be diagnosed in New Jersey this year, and 4,200 people will die from the disease.

25 Oct 2012

New method of oral vaccination could help boost immunity to TB, influenza and C. difficile

Scientists at Royal Holloway, University of London have developed a pioneering new method of oral vaccination which could help boost immunity to TB and influenza, as well as prevent C. difficile for which there is currently no vaccine.

25 Oct 2012

New method of testing for West Nile virus

While the United States has largely been spared the scourge of mosquito-borne diseases endemic to the developing world-including yellow fever, malaria and dengue fever-mosquito-related illnesses in the US are on the rise. One pathogen of increasing concern in the U.S. is an arbovirus known as West Nile.

24 Oct 2012

Flu protection: an interview with Dr Gillian SteelFisher of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, USA

In 2009, a new strain of influenza, or flu, virus emerged and spread rapidly to many countries around the world. It was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in June 2009.

24 Oct 2012

Novel approach to assemble the 'connectome' via genetic barcoding

A team of neuroscientists has proposed a new and potentially revolutionary way of obtaining a neuronal connectivity map (the "connectome") of the whole brain of the mouse. The details are set forth in an essay published October 23 in the open-access journal PLOS Biology.

24 Oct 2012

Bayer announces data from riociguat Phase III trial on CTEPH

Bayer HealthCare today announced data from the Phase III CHEST-1 trial evaluating its investigational drug riociguat in patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) or with persistent or recurrent pulmonary hypertension (PH) after surgery.

24 Oct 2012

Probiotic supplementation improves health-related quality of life during common cold

College students are notoriously sleep-deprived, live in close quarters and lead stress-filled lives, making them especially susceptible for contracting colds and upper-respiratory infections. For these reasons, a team lead by researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Health Related Professions (UMDNJ-SHRP) selected this population to study the effects of probiotic supplementation on health-related quality of life (HRQL) during the common cold.

24 Oct 2012

Abbott announces results from HUMIRA clinical studies on ulcerative colitis

Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced results from an analysis of three-year long-term data from an ongoing open-label extension of the HUMIRA (adalimumab) ULTRA 1 and ULTRA 2 studies.

23 Oct 2012

Sanofi presents overview of Phase II and III trials for quadrivalent influenza vaccine

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, presented today an overview of Phase II and Phase III clinical trials for its investigational quadrivalent influenza vaccine (QIV).

23 Oct 2012

Liquid version of breast cancer drug Tamoxifen launched in the US

Breast Cancer Awareness Month raises visibility and research dollars to address a disease that in the United States claims nearly 40,000 lives annually and affects approximately 240,000 people who each year are newly diagnosed. While the month's activities are important in the fight against breast cancer, they are not designed to directly improve the day-to-day management of the disease.

22 Oct 2012

Are some factors related to readmissions beyond hospitals' control?

Reuters reports on a "fresh look at past research" that finds several non-medical variables may be central to how some patients do once they are discharged from the hospital.

22 Oct 2012

Researchers discover Hyalomma ticks in migratory birds

A type of haemorrhagic fever (Crimean-Congo) that is prevalent in Africa, Asia, and the Balkans has begun to spread to new areas in southern Europe. Now Swedish researchers have shown that migratory birds carrying ticks are the possible source of contagion.

22 Oct 2012

Insight into calcium pumps in cells

When animals and plants are exposed to influences such as bacterial attack, odour and cold, calcium ions flow into the cells. The calcium provides the cells with a signal about what is going on outside, but as high concentrations of calcium are toxic to the cells, it must be quickly pumped out again.

22 Oct 2012

Chinese herbs may show significant benefits for patients with NSCLC, IPF and influenza

Chinese herbs, including JHQG, BFXL, and BFHX, may show significant benefits for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and influenza.

22 Oct 2012

Cough, difficulty breathing and chest pain key symptoms of pulmonary embolism

Difficulty breathing, chest pain, and cough may sound like symptoms of a heart attack; however, new research shows that these are the key symptoms for pulmonary embolism (PE), a potentially fatal blockage in the lung.

22 Oct 2012

Cobinamide may help reverse effects of cyanide toxicity

Smoke inhalation is the major cause of death in fire victims due to cyanide poisoning. However, new research presented at CHEST 2012, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, shows that a new antidote, cobinamide, may help reverse the effects of cyanide toxicity.

22 Oct 2012

Soft chest band therapy safe and effective for patients with persistent dry cough

A soft, extendible band fitted around the chest may help to relieve cough in patients with persistent dry cough. Over the course of 1 year, Japanese researchers evaluated the antitussive effect of the chest band worn for 8 hours a day in 56 patients with chronic cough due to a variety of conditions.

22 Oct 2012