Category: Lung Disease News

Identifying subsets of patients with different biochemical characteristics can help clinical researchers develop more effective therapies for treating ARDS associated with COVID-19 infections. Results of a new study suggest that disruption of the normal regulation of blood vessels and circulation could be a key feature of critical illness, severe symptoms, and death related to COVID-19 infections. Source

Fewer patients with severe attacks were seen by their GP or admitted to hospital during the covid-19 pandemic, and fewer were admitted to hospital for pneumonia, influenza and chronic lung diseases, according to new research. Source

Researchers have used advanced technology and analytics to map, at single-cell resolution, the cellular landscape of diseased lung tissue in severe COVID-19 and other infectious lung diseases. Source

Lung tumors are home to immune cells that affect their growth and resistance to treatment. Looking at neutrophils, scientists led by EPFL have discovered that the key might lie in the cells’ ability to metabolize glucose, opening an entirely new target for improving radiotherapy. Source

A new technique that can trace which tissues and organs the DNA in our blood comes from has just been reported. Source

A significant proportion of hospitalized patients with influenza develop complications of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Investigators have found that treatment with an immune receptor blocker in combination with an antiviral agent markedly improves survival of mice infected with lethal influenza and reduces lung pathology in swine-influenza-infected piglets. Their research also provides insights into the optimal timing of treatment to prevent acute lung injury. Source

Research shows how cadmium and carbon black can trigger lung macrophages to produce a modified protein, citrullinated vimentin, which leads to lung fibrosis. Researchers also describe mechanistic steps in lung macrophages and lung fibroblasts that leads to the lung scarring. One enzyme involved in these steps, PAD2, may be a promising target to attenuate cadmium/carbon black-induced fibrosis. The study also reports a potential mouse disease model for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Source

Researchers have designed a new bioink which allows small human-sized airways to be 3D-bioprinted with the help of patient cells for the first time. The 3D-printed constructs are biocompatible and support new blood vessel growth into the transplanted material. This is an important first step towards 3D-printing organs. Source

A real-time study of immune responses inside the lungs of COVID patients suggests a cytokine ‘hurricane’ in the airways drives severe disease, and an influx of T cells may be critical to survival. Source

A visual correlation has been found between the severity of COVID-19 in the lungs using CT scans and the severity of effects on patient’s brains, using MRI scans. Source