Category: Lung Disease News

Researchers using a model of airway tissue created from human stem cells have pinpointed how smoking cigarettes causes more severe infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in the airways of the lungs. Source

Researchers have determined a key factor as to why COVID-19 appears to infect and sicken adults and older people preferentially while seeming to spare younger children. Source

New research shows the SARS-CoV-2 virus’ unique characteristics and may explain why patients suffer from ‘long COVID’. Source

Immune cells in the lungs are important for the immune system’s recognition and fight against viruses. However, the virus that produces COVID-19 is not recognised by these cells, as the virus may hide its genomic material, and as a result the cells’ immune system against the virus is not activated. This may help explain why some people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic in the early stages of the disease. Source

Researchers have developed a lab-grown living lung model that mimics the tiny air sacs of the lungs where coronavirus infection and serious lung damage take place. This advance has enabled virologists to watch the battle between the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and lung cells at the finest molecular scale. In experiments so far, the mini lungs respond just like the real thing. Source

‘Mini-lungs’ grown from tissue donated to Cambridge hospitals has provided a team of scientists from South Korea and the UK with important insights into how COVID-19 damages the lungs. Source

Researchers report that the use of spectral CT with electron density imaging could improve the assessment of lung lesion extent in patients with early-stage coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Source

Researchers have developed a technique that uses ultrasound to provide non-invasive assessments of pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary edema. The technique has been shown to both quantify lung scarring and detect lung fluid in rats. A study on pulmonary edema in humans is under way. Source

The raging lung inflammation that can contribute to death from the flu can be stopped in its tracks by a drug derived from a naturally occurring human protein, a new animal study suggests. Source

New research shows that artificial intelligence can be nearly as accurate as a physician in diagnosing COVID-19 in the lungs. The study also shows the new technique can also overcome some of the challenges of current testing. Source