Tag: COPD

Nicotine-free e-cigarettes can damage blood vessels: Single instance of vaping immediately leads to reduced vascular function

Smoking e-cigarettes, also called vaping, has been marketed as a safe alternative to tobacco cigarettes and is rising in popularity among non-smoking adolescents. However, a single e-cigarette can be harmful to the body’s blood vessels — even when the vapor is entirely nicotine-free — according to a new study by researchers in the Perelman School

Cause of sepsis-induced lung injury

A KAIST research team succeeded in visualizing pulmonary microcirculation and circulating cells in vivo with a custom-built 3D intravital lung microscopic imaging system. They found a type of leukocyte called neutrophils aggregate inside the capillaries during sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI), leading to disturbances and dead space in blood microcirculation. According to the researchers, this

Preeclampsia treatment for mothers also benefits offspring: Findings could lead to therapies that lower health risks for children born to women with preeclampsia

An estimated six to 15 million people in the U.S. are children born of a pregnancy complicated by preeclampsia. New research performed in rats reveals that treating preeclampsia with sildenafil citrate (Viagra) may help protect the cardiovascular health of the offspring. Preeclampsia occurs when women with otherwise normal blood pressure experience elevated blood pressure during

Specialized lung cells appear very early in development: Fetal signaling pathways may offer future targets for treating lung injury

Specialized lung cells appear in the developing fetus much earlier than scientists previously thought. A new animal study reports how cells that become alveoli, the tiny compartments in which gas exchange occurs in the lung, begin their specialized roles very early in prenatal life. The researchers say that investigating the fetal signaling pathways active in

Uranium in mine dust could dissolve in human lungs

New Mexico contains hundreds of historic uranium mines. Although active uranium mining in the state has ceased, rates of cardiovascular and metabolic disease remain high in the population residing close to mines within the Navajo Nation. According to a new study in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters, inhaled uranium in dusts from the

Soil compound fights chronic wasting disease

A major compound in soil organic matter degrades chronic wasting disease prions and decreases infectivity in mice, according to a study published November 29 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Judd Aiken of the University of Alberta, and colleagues. Chronic wasting disease is an environmentally transmissible, fatal prion disease affecting free-ranging deer, moose, elk

Traditional glaucoma test can miss severity of disease: Study finds variation of exam better assesses central vision damage

The most common tests for glaucoma can underestimate the severity of the condition by not detecting the presence of central vision loss, according to a new Columbia University study. The study, published Nov. 8 in JAMA Ophthalmology, found that administering a variation of the visual field test that better assesses macular damage can improve diagnosis

COPD and age: Onset, life expectancy, and more

COPD is a collection of chronic lung disorders that usually develop after years of lung damage. Age does appear to be a factor with COPD because of this, and older people may be more at risk than those who are younger. Diagnosing COPD early is critical because treatment focuses on slowing the progression of the

COPD diagnosis: Which tests do doctors use and how are they done?

Symptoms of COPD, such as wheezing, shortness of breath, and fatigue, can be similar to the signs of other lung conditions. COPD often gets progressively worse over time. Getting an accurate and early diagnosis allows doctors to develop an effective treatment plan that can help slow the progression of a person’s disease. Doctors begin diagnosing

Number of COPD events over one year predicts rate of future events

(HealthDay)—The frequency of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPDs) in a single year predicts the long-term rate of AECOPDs, according to a study recently published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Kieran J. Rothnie, Ph.D., from Imperial College London, and colleagues examined the natural history of AECOPDs among 99,574

Taking a pill can effectively treat brutal lung disease: Researchers learn what causes pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) to clog lungs

Researchers report in Nature Communications they figured out why air sacs in the lungs clog up with a thick substance called surfactant in a brutal disease called Pulmonary Alveolar Proteinosis (PAP), and they show taking cholesterol-busting pills called statins can effectively treat the disease. That’s good news for people with PAP because at present the

Use of Palliative Care, Oxygen Therapy Increasing for COPD

MONDAY, July 2, 2018 — For patients with advanced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the use of formal palliative care services and long-term oxygen therapy has increased but remains low, according to a study published online June 11 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Andrea S. Gershon, M.D., from Sunnybrook Health

Caloric intake and muscle mass at high altitude

New research in The FASEB Journal explored why a group of young, healthy adults residing at high altitude lost muscle mass while severely underfed and consuming the same high-protein diet that preserved muscle during weight loss at sea level. A team led by Stefan M. Pasiakos, PhD, a nutritional physiologist at the U.S. Army Research

Trial shows chemotherapy is helping kids live with pulmonary vein stenosis: Adding chemotherapy to a treatment regimen including catheterization and surgery can deter abnormal cellular growth

Pulmonary vein stenosis (PVS) is a rare disease in which abnormal cells build up inside the veins responsible for carrying oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the heart. It restricts blood flow through these vessels, eventually sealing them off entirely if left untreated. Typically affecting young children, the most severe form of PVS progresses very

New approach to treating patients with stage IV Wilms tumor: Four-year overall survival increased 12 percent for patients with stage IV Wilms tumor with lung metastases

A new study showing significantly improved survival rates for patients with stage IV Wilms tumors with lung metastases was recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The outcomes of the study, “Treatment of Stage IV Favorable Histology Wilms Tumor With Lung Metastases: A Report From the Children’s Oncology Group AREN0533 Study,” will be a