http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. A new study involving data from more than 20,000 individuals has uncovered several DNA sequences linked to impaired pulmonary function. The research, an analysis that combined the results of several smaller studies, provides insight into the mechanisms involved in reaching full lung capacity. The findings may ultimately lead to better understanding of lung function and diseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. http://www.physorg.com/news180012588.html Medicine & Health Mon, 14 Dec 2009 11:39:37 EST news180012588 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have discovered five genetic variants that are associated with the health of the human lung. The research by an international consortium of 96 scientists from 63 centres in Europe and Australia sheds new light on the molecular basis of lung diseases. http://www.physorg.com/news179932751.html Medicine & Health Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:20:12 EST news179932751 For the first time, scientists in the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University Health Network have successfully used gene therapy to repair injured human donor lungs, making them potentially suitable for transplantation into patients. This technique could significantly expand the number of donor lungs by using organs that are currently discarded, and improve outcomes after transplantation. http://www.physorg.com/news175960285.html Medicine & Health Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:53:16 EST news175960285 Investigators have identified a drug that is currently approved to treat certain types of cancer, Gleevec, that could provide the first treatment for scleroderma, a chronic connective tissue disease for which a treatment has remained elusive. The news will be presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology on October 18 in Philadelphia. http://www.physorg.com/news175080987.html Medicine & Health Sun, 18 Oct 2009 10:50:01 EST news175080987 Middle-aged male smokers with high cholesterol and blood pressure die, on average, a decade sooner than peers without any of these heart disease risk factors, according to a study published Friday. http://www.physorg.com/news172434199.html Medicine & Health Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:24:04 EST news172434199 New research hints that the common belief that kids who go to daycare have lower rates of asthma and allergy later in life might be nothing more than wishful thinking. While young children in daycare definitely do get more illnesses and experience more respiratory symptoms as a result, any perceived protection these exposures afford against asthma and allergy seem to disappear by the time the child hits the age of eight. http://www.physorg.com/news171607564.html Medicine & Health Tue, 08 Sep 2009 05:49:33 EST news171607564 Ozone exposure, even at levels deemed safe by current clean air standards, can have a significant and negative effect on lung function, according to researchers at the University of California Davis. http://www.physorg.com/news167588868.html Medicine & Health Thu, 23 Jul 2009 18:00:01 EST news167588868 People who eat lots of soy products have better lung function and are less likely to develop the smoking-associated lung disease COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). A study published in BioMed Central's open access journal Respiratory Research has shown that consumption of a wide variety of soy products can be associated with a reduction in the risk of COPD and other respiratory symptoms. http://www.physorg.com/news165214375.html Medicine & Health Fri, 26 Jun 2009 06:30:01 EST news165214375 Being overweight or obese does not make asthma worse in patients with mild and moderate forms of the disease, according to a study by National Jewish Health researchers, although it may reduce the response to medications. http://www.physorg.com/news163270621.html Medicine & Health Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:57:50 EST news163270621 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. http://www.physorg.com/news162041798.html Medicine & Health Wed, 20 May 2009 12:37:08 EST news162041798 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. The data will be presented on Tuesday, May 19, at the 105th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in San Diego. http://www.physorg.com/news161954540.html Medicine & Health Tue, 19 May 2009 12:22:57 EST news161954540 Women may be more susceptible to the lung damaging effects of smoking than men, according to new research by Inga-Cecilie Soerheim, M.D., and her colleagues from Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital and University of Bergen, Norway. They analyzed data from a Norwegian case-control study including 954 subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 955 controls. All were current- or ex-smokers, and the COPD subjects had moderate or severe COPD. http://www.physorg.com/news161884539.html Medicine & Health Mon, 18 May 2009 16:56:12 EST news161884539 A large, well-controlled, multi-national clinical trial program has demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of what may become the first FDA-approved medicine for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF. http://www.physorg.com/news161787643.html Medicine & Health Sun, 17 May 2009 14:01:16 EST news161787643 (AP) -- Sixty percent of Americans live in areas with unhealthy air pollution levels, despite a growing green movement and more stringent laws aimed at improving air quality, the American Lung Association said in a report released Wednesday. http://www.physorg.com/news160207575.html Space & Earth Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:11:29 EST news160207575 Mutations in a gene may cause poor lung development in children, making them more vulnerable to diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) later in life, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the German Research Center for Environmental Health. Their study, published online in Physiological Genomics, measured expression levels of the gene and its variants in both mouse lungs and children ages 9 to 11. http://www.physorg.com/news157283754.html Medicine & Health Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:57:00 EST news157283754 A tiny variation within a single gene can determine not only how quickly and well lungs grow and function in children and adolescents, but how susceptible those children will be to exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, even in utero, according to researchers from the University of Southern California. http://www.physorg.com/news157279924.html Medicine & Health Thu, 26 Mar 2009 09:54:56 EST news157279924 Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have, for the first time, identified a gene variant on chromosome 4 that may be a potential risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These findings will be published in PLoS Genetics on March 20th. http://www.physorg.com/news156783613.html Medicine & Health Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:00:56 EST news156783613 Estrogen may be a new postnatal therapy to improve lung function and other outcomes in preterm infants, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in an animal study. http://www.physorg.com/news156060657.html Medicine & Health Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:11:28 EST news156060657 There's more bad news for people who carry excess weight around their waists: Not only is abdominal obesity associated with diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and a host of other health problems collectively known as "metabolic syndrome," a new study has found that a high waist circumference is strongly associated with decreased lung function -independent of smoking history, sex, body mass index (BMI) and other complicating factors. http://www.physorg.com/news155558873.html Medicine & Health Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:48:36 EST news155558873 There are no clear benefits to using long-acting beta2-agonists (LABAs) for treatment of asthma in children, a new study concludes. In an overview of recent Cochrane reviews, Child Health Field researchers report that there is currently insufficient evidence to suggest the drugs, which are recommended to relieve the symptoms of asthma, offer any additional benefit to conventional preventative medications. http://www.physorg.com/news148103953.html Medicine & Health Wed, 10 Dec 2008 03:59:13 EST news148103953 Early detection of lung disease in cystic fibrosis (CF), combined with aggressive treatment in infants, may be the key to controlling the progression of the disease, according to a recent study. New research shows that contrary to previous scientific opinion, progressive lung damage in CF patients can begin as early as infancy even though lung function shortly after diagnosis is normal. http://www.physorg.com/news147696629.html Medicine & Health Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:50:29 EST news147696629 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research suggests that cadmium is one of the critical ingredients causing emphysema, and even low-level exposure attained through second-hand smoke and other means may also increase the chance of developing lung disease. http://www.physorg.com/news138381051.html Medicine & Health Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:10:51 EST news138381051