A study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet shows that a treatment-adjustment algorithm based on lung function and symptoms in a mobile phone is useful for managing uncontrolled asthma. For fuss-free measuring of lung function, the phone connects to a wireless spirometer, and the app can register respiratory symptoms and provide visual feedback on treatment. The…
For tuberculosis patients, complying with a full course of treatment can be daunting and difficult. But a new experiment conducted by MIT researchers in Kenya, in collaboration with the digital health company Keheala; shows that a digital program used on mobile phones helps patients successfully finish their treatments. The program created interactive communication between patients and…
Prospects for AstraZeneca’s respiratory treatments business improved on Wednesday as a three drug inhalers was shown to ease smoker’s lung and U.S. regulators grant its injectable asthma drug Fasenra special status for a rare lung condition. AstraZeneca said the late stage ETHOS trial of triple drug therapy Breztri Aerosphere, formerly known as PT010; help patients…
Research shows that bacteria use hydrogen peroxide to weaken the immune system and cause pneumonia. This according to a study at Umeå University and Stockholm University, Sweden. Hydrogen peroxide is also know as a bleaching agent that is used to whiten teeth or hair; as a stain remover, as well as for cleaning surfaces and…
While the vast majority of the 1.8 billion people infected with the tuberculosis bacterium never experience active disease, an estimated 5 to 15% do develop full-blown infections roughly half of them within 18 months of exposure. It’s a question that has continue to mystify microbiologists, infectious disease specialists and public health experts on the forefront…
Populations; Due to their function; the lungs are constantly exposed to various compounds carried in the air, sometimes harmful, sometimes harmless. The lung immune system plays a pivotal role in deciding or not deciding to mount an immune response in order to sustain respiratory function. In some cases, there is a dysfunction of the immune…
Adults with cerebral palsy are about twice as likely to develop cardiovascular disease and chronic respiratory disease compare to adults without cerebral palsy, according to a new study led by RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) and Brunel University London. The study compared 1,700 adults with cerebral palsy and 5,000 adults without cerebral palsy…
Large amounts of a certain type of bacteria, most likely from outdoors, may reduce the child’s risk of developing asthma. This was shown by a new study by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) that analyzed the microbiota of over 400 Finnish homes. However, the study was unable to identify individual bacterial taxa…
News of a cure for the deadliest strain of tuberculosis is making headlines around the world. However, before treatment can begin, TB must first be diagnosed. Early detection has been a serious challenge for those suffering at various stages of this epidemic. Until now. A colorimetric biosensing assay invented by Evangelyn Alocilja, Michigan State University…
In this study anti tuberculosis drug pretomanid recently approve by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will be a game changer for treating people with extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) and those who do not tolerate or respond to now available multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) drugs. That pretomanid is only the third drug in the last 40…
Measures of reversibility are of limited value for distinguishing smoke related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from asthma; but bronchodilator response (BDR) testing may be a phenotypic marker for asthma; so according to study results published in European Respiratory Journal. Researchers examine findings from 3 large population studies to compare different methods for measuring BDR…
Tuberculosis (TB) cases among children and adolescents in the USA have almost halved within a ten-year period, yet stark differences exist in the incidence rates between different ethnic, racial, and geographical communities, according to an observational study using national TB surveillance and census data from 2007-2017, published in The Lancet Public Health journal. This study…