Category: Respiratory / Asthma

What: Science Press Breakfast to learn about COPD, the silent killer few know about, and the acronym that few can identify. Expert panel will discuss the latest epidemiology of this growing disease (expected to rank #3, after heart disease and cancer, by 2020); the most recent research; current screening techniques; and the future technologies for detection and treatment. Special discussion on research to identify the genetic markers of lung disease.

Diagnosing a risk of fatal lung disorders may be possible by analysing the umbilical cords of premature babies, according to research published in the online open access journal Genome Biology.  Until now, paediatricians have not been able to predict the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) because of the difficulties with obtaining lung samples.

“Effect of Emergency Department Crowding on Time to Antibiotics in Patients Admitted With Community-Acquired Pneumonia,”

When the smokefree legislation was introduced in July, eradicating the tobacco haze that had hung over England’s pubs and clubs for a more than a century, sceptics argued the only impact would be to drive down bar takings. Three months later the first survey of the effect of the legislation has revealed dramatic improvements in air quality and a boost to trade. Smokefree premises have been good for both health and business.

When Dr. Naftali Kaminski decided to research idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), his mentors tried to talk him out of it. But that only increased his determination. “It’s typical of an Israeli,” laughed the director of the University of Pittsburgh’s Richard Simmons Center. “We don’t know our place in the system. You’re a junior trainee, and you don’t listen to whatever anyone tells you, and do what you want.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking action on approximately 200 cough-suppressant products, many of which are mistakenly being given to children. Hydrocodone is a narcotic commonly used for the treatment of pain and suppressing coughs. The FDA informs that this action should not involve other FDA approved formulations.

Researchers in Brazil have found that treating patients who suffer from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) dramatically reduces early indications of atherosclerosis in just months, linking OSA directly to the hardening or narrowing of the arteries. Until now, no study has demonstrated such a direct relationship between the two.

A lack of family support and problems in one’s neighborhood are associated with greater asthma symptoms in children and adolescents, according to researchers in Vancouver, Canada. Social environment has long been thought to be an important factor in asthma manifestations in youth, but few studies have empirically tested social factors at the family, peer and neighborhood levels and their implications for childhood asthma.Edith Chen, Ph.D.

Extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) represents a spectre for the civil society and a major challenge for the TB control community. The ERS has played a key role in fighting XDR-TB, promoting important studies and publishing some of them in the European Respiratory Journal, the scientific publication of the ERS.

GlaxoSmithKline Australia (GSK) has advised all pharmacists today that the Serevent (salmeterol xinafoate) Metered Dose Inhaler (MDI) will be discontinued as of 31st December 2007 as its CFC propellant is being phased out in accordance with International Standards.The Serevent Accuhaler continues to be available for the treatment of COPD and asthma and GSK is committed to its ongoing supply.