Lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) can have a significantly beneficial effect in patients with severe emphysema, according to the first ever study to randomize emphysema patients to receive either LVRS or non-surgical medical care.
The American Thoracic Society and the European Respiratory Society have released official standards for clinical trials and practice with respect to the assessment of asthma. The statement appears in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
ATS 2009, SAN DIEGO?The eyes may be the window into the soul, but they may also contain important medical information. According to new research to be presented at the American Thoracic Society’s 105th International Conference in San Diego on May 19, patients with diabetes who have retinopathy should also be screened for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
ATS 2009, SAN DIEGO?Vitamin D may slow the progressive decline in the ability to breathe that can occur in people with asthma as a result of human airway smooth muscle (HASM) proliferation, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania.
The group found that calcitriol, a form of vitamin D synthesized within the body, reduced growth-factor-induced HASM proliferation in cells is
ATS 2009, SAN DIEGO? A protein from algae may have what it takes to stop Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) infections, according to new research.
ATS 2009, SAN DIEGO?Patients with moderate COPD were randomized to receive “usual care” or to undergo an interdisciplinary, community-based program (INTERCOM) that offered an intensive lifestyle moderation phase of four months, during which patients were instructed in detail to perform two 15-minute intervals of pleasurable walking or cycling, and offered instruction in other lifestyle changes
San Diego, Calif., May 19, 2009 ? Data from two presentations highlighting the use of Perforomist® (formoterol fumarate) Inhalation Solution in moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients were featured today at the International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.
ATS 2009, SAN DIEGO? Aerosol delivery of antibiotics via nanoparticles may provide a means to improve drug delivery and increase patient compliance, thus reducing the severity of individual illnesses, the spread of epidemics, and possibly even retarding antibiotic resistance.
Delivery of antibiotics via nanoparticles has shown promise as a drug delivery mechanism, particularly for controll
ATS 2009, SAN DIEGO? Children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy and their early childhood years may be predisposed to take up smoking as teens and young adults, compounding the physical damage they sustained from the smoke exposure.
“It is well-known that maternal smoking influences a developing fetus in myriad ways, contributing to low birth weight, premature birth and a host of othe
ATS 2009, SAN DIEGO? Chronic exposure to tobacco smoke in childhood may contribute to early emphysema later in life, according to new research. Environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) is known to be associated with a variety of serious health problems, but it had not previously been associated with the development of emphysema over the life course.
ATS 2009, SAN DIEGO? Babies born to obese mothers may have an increased risk of asthma, according to data from a new study to be presented on May 19 at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego.
“Obesity is not a neutral state; adipose tissue is an active producer of pro-inflammatory cytokines, while it also suppresses the action of anti-inflammatory
ATS 2009, SAN DIEGO?Research conducted seven years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City (NYC) found that children attending the socioeconomically and ethnically homogeneous elementary school closest to Ground Zero have high rates of self-reported asthma and airway obstruction.
ATS 2009, SAN DIEGO?Healthcare workers in South Africa are at a significantly increased risk of developing drug-resistant tuberculosis, or XDR-TB, in a trend which threatens to further exacerbate the already beleaguered healthcare systems in sub-Saharan countries, according to results of a new study.