Lungs News and Research

RSS

UC-MSC infusions reduce risk of death, quicken recovery time in severe COVID-19 cases

Dr. Camilo Ricordi, director of the Diabetes Research Institute and Cell Transplant Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and his team of international collaborators are reporting the results of a groundbreaking randomized controlled trial showing umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell (UC-MSC) infusions safely reduce risk of death and quicken time to recovery for the most severe COVID-19 patients.

5 Jan 2021

Novel imaging method reveals in vivo localization of antibiotics in infected lung tissues

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and the University of Western Australia have developed a new imaging method to see where antibiotics have reached bacteria within tissues.

5 Jan 2021

USF researchers discover promising new compound to open constricted airways

Despite the progress made in managing asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), poorly controlled symptoms for both respiratory diseases can lead to severe shortness of breath, hospitalizations or even death.

4 Jan 2021

Study uncovers why cancer patients with liver metastases have poor outcomes

Michael Green, M.D., Ph.D., noticed that when his patients had cancer that spread to the liver, they fared poorly – more so than when cancer spread to other parts of the body. Not only that, but transformative immunotherapy treatments had little impact for these patients.

4 Jan 2021

Animal study suggests palmitoylation inhibitor reduces virulence of SARS-CoV-2

A new study preprint on the bioRxiv* server demonstrates the ability of a fatty acid synthase inhibitor to improve the survival of mice infected with murine hepatitis virus. In so doing, it adds to the sum of knowledge about the relationship of SARS-CoV-2 with cholesterol metabolism in the host cell.

24 Dec 2020

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 NTD-directed antibodies are protective against lethal infection

As the world struggles to contain the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), responsible for over 1.6 million deaths and 76 million infections globally, researchers are trying to pin down the determinants of lethality, of infectivity and of protection. Such data would help contain its spread and develop preventive and therapeutic antivirals and vaccines. A new preprint that appeared recently on the bioRxiv* server describes the high degree of protection afforded by antibodies that target the N-terminal domain (NTD) of the virus.

24 Dec 2020

More than 2,900 health care workers died this year — and the government barely kept track

More than 2,900 U.S. health care workers have died in the COVID-19 pandemic since March, a far higher number than that reported by the government, according to a new analysis by KHN and The Guardian.

23 Dec 2020

Researchers use fruit fly model to understand COVID-19-related neurological complications

Researchers claim to have reproduced disease mechanisms due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the fruit fly, Drosophila, while also providing proof of the efficacy of one drug against these disease processes. If validated, these findings represent a new understanding of how the virus causes neurological symptoms that could help develop more effective therapies.

23 Dec 2020

New project to develop a platform for monitoring microvascular health of COVID-19 patients

VASCOVID, a new European project, will develop a platform that uses near-infrared light to monitor microvascular health of COVID-19 patients and assist clinicians in delivering customized treatments.

23 Dec 2020

Early clinical data demonstrates the efficacy of existing drug in treating COVID-19

In what has the potential to significantly change how Corona patients are being treated and the severity of the disease, research spearheaded at Jerusalem's Hebrew University gathered early clinical evidence demonstrating the efficacy of an existing drug in treating COVID-19.

22 Dec 2020

Gene-regulating snippet of RNA may contribute to breast cancer metastasis

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists have discovered a gene-regulating snippet of RNA that may contribute to the spread of many breast cancers.

22 Dec 2020

Scientists isolate anti-COVID-19 nanobodies produced by a llama

National Institutes of Health researchers have isolated a set of promising, tiny antibodies, or "nanobodies," against SARS-CoV-2 that were produced by a llama named Cormac.

22 Dec 2020

Cadmium linked to more severe flu and pneumonia infections

In this interview, News-Medical speaks to Dr. Howard Hu about his latest research into cadmium and how it could be causing more severe pneumonia infections.

22 Dec 2020

Researchers have a promising lead on COVID-19 treatment

By taking a lesson from prostate cancer, researchers now have a promising lead on treatment for COVID-19. Two proteins, ACE2 and TMPRSS2, help the coronavirus gain entry and replicate within cells. TMPRSS2 is well-known to Arul Chinnaiyan, M.D., Ph.D. His lab discovered that TMPRSS2 fuses with the ETS gene to drive more than half of all prostate cancers. They also knew that TMPRSS2 was regulated by the androgen receptor.

21 Dec 2020

A real-time platform for monitoring microvascular health of COVID-19 patients in ICUs

As COVID-19 spread worldwide in early 2020, the avalanche of patients requiring admission into intensive care units (ICUs) suddenly became overwhelming to the healthcare systems.

21 Dec 2020

High altitude experts explain pneumolysis caused by COVID-19

The current COVID-19 pandemic has caused over 1 million deaths which can be attributed to its severe progressive pulmonary compromise.

21 Dec 2020

Virtual telehealth platform enables kidney transplant evaluation from home

A virtual telehealth platform is allowing the surgery program at the Medical University of South Carolina to evaluate and wait-list patients for kidney transplantation despite reductions in direct, in-person health care visits brought about by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

21 Dec 2020