Secondhand smoke damages lungs, MRIs show

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The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measures lung injury indicated by different colors. Credit: The Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Virginia
The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measures lung injury, indicated by different colors. Credit: The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Virginia

It’s not a smoking gun, but it’s smoking-related, and it’s there in bright medical images: evidence of microscopic structural damage deep in the lungs, caused by secondhand cigarette smoke. For the first time, researchers have identified lung injury to nonsmokers that was long suspected, but not previously detectable with medical imaging tools.


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All News summaries for November 26, 2007

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