http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. NIH-supported scientists used lab-grown human lung cells to study the cells' response to infection by a novel human coronavirus (called nCoV) and compiled information about which genes are significantly disrupted in early and late stages of infection. The information about host response to nCoV allowed the researchers to predict drugs that might be used to inhibit either the virus itself or the deleterious responses that host cells make in reaction to infection. Since nCoV was recognized in 2012, 17 confirmed cases and 11 deaths have been reported—a high fatality rate that is spurring urgent research efforts to better understand the virus and its effects. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-cell-response-coronavirus-unveils-paths.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:33:04 EST news286547577 A new virus that causes severe breathing distress and kidney failure elicits a distinctive airway cell response to allow it to multiply. Scientists studying the Human Coronavirus-Erasmus Medical Center, which first appeared April 2012 in the Middle East, have discovered helpful details about its stronghold tactics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-tactics-middle-east-virus-lung.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:10:01 EST news286480768 A discovery that shows how a novel—and often fatal—virus infects cells may help fight a health threat that has recently emerged on the world stage, researchers report. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-scientists-key-entry-sars-like-virus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:17:41 EST news282403055 Flu viruses are a major cause of death and sickness around the world, and antiviral drugs currently do not protect the most seriously ill patients. A study published March 7th by Cell Press in the journal Cell reveals that a compound derived from fats found in fish oils prevents death in influenza-virus-infected mice, even at advanced stages of disease. The study offers a promising strategy for the treatment of patients with severe influenza virus infections. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-fatty-acids-flu-drug.html Medical research Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:55:48 EST news281883339 In a London ceremony today, Wyss Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D., received the NC3Rs 3Rs Prize from the UK's National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs) for his innovative Lung-on-a-Chip—a microdevice lined by human cells that recapitulates complex functions of the living lung. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-lung-on-a-chip-prize-potentially-animal.html Medical research Tue, 26 Feb 2013 11:38:21 EST news281101092 Nestled deep within the body, the epithelial lining of the respiratory system is nonetheless seriously exposed. Its direct contact with environmental air necessitates protective mechanisms that both seal off the respiratory tract from other compartments of the body and neutralize microbial invaders. This is achieved by the coordinated action of the functionally specialized various cell types that make up the lining of the airway. These respiratory cell populations include major ciliated cells, exocrine Clara cells, and neuroendocrine (NE) cells, all of which are generated by a common epithelial progenitor cell type during embryogenesis. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-airways-notch-bronchial-cell-fates.html Medical research Tue, 22 Jan 2013 07:31:21 EST news278062267 (Medical Xpress)—Juice from rice cells knocked out two kinds of human cancer cells as well or better than the potent anti-cancer drug Taxol in lab tests conducted by a Michigan Technological University scientist. Plus, it did something extra: it played nice with normal cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-rice-cell-cocktail-cancer-cells.html Cancer Mon, 14 Jan 2013 06:40:05 EST news277366621 The presence of a certain molecule allows the immune system to effectively police tuberculosis (TB) of the lungs and prevent it from turning into an active and deadly infection, according to a new study led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Their findings appear today in the online version of the Journal of Clinical Investigation. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-team-molecule-polices-tb-lung.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 02 Jan 2013 12:00:01 EST news276343612 Researchers at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have mimicked pulmonary edema in a microchip lined by living human cells, as reported today in the journal Science Translational Medicine. They used this "lung-on-a-chip" to study drug toxicity and identify potential new therapies to prevent this life-threatening condition. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-lung-on-a-chip-stage-animal.html Medical research Wed, 07 Nov 2012 14:00:04 EST news271508128 Vancouver researchers have discovered the cellular pathway that causes lung-damaging inflammation in cystic fibrosis (CF), and that reducing the pathway's activity also decreases inflammation. The finding offers a potential new drug target for treating CF lung disease, which is a major cause of illness and death for people with CF. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-drug-cystic-fibrosis-lung-disease.html Inflammatory disorders Wed, 07 Nov 2012 13:08:35 EST news271516092 Mucus coats our airways' internal surfaces. The viscous gel humidifies the lungs and prevents viruses and other small particles like diesel soot from entering the body unchecked. Previously unclear was the extent to which such nanoparticles are able to move through the lungs' mucus. Here, the research evidence was contradictory. Scientists could not explain why, in inhaled medication development, drug nanoparticles often simply got stuck in the mucus never making it to their target destination inside the lung cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-lung-mucus-gel-scaffold-nanoparticles.html Medical research Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:43:47 EST news270211418 (Medical Xpress)—A new technique that allows scientists to grow lung cancer cells in three dimensions could accelerate discoveries for a type of cancer that has benefited little from scientific research over the last several decades. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-d-lung-cancer-mimics-real.html Cancer Thu, 11 Oct 2012 07:25:41 EST news269159120 Researchers at the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) are paving the way towards individualized medicine for patients with cystic fibrosis.  http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-sickkids-lung-cells-stem-cell.html Medical research Wed, 29 Aug 2012 11:27:51 EST news265458400 (Medical Xpress)—When you are hit with the flu, you know it immediately—fever, chills, sore throat, aching muscles, fatigue. This is your body mounting an immune response to the invading virus. But less is known about what is happening on the molecular level. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-scientists-ways-influenza-virus-host.html Medical research Thu, 23 Aug 2012 13:00:01 EST news264945204 A research team led by Xian Chang Li, MD, PhD, Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) Transplantation Research Center, has shed light on how a population of lymphocytes, called CD4+ T cells, mature into various subsets of adult T helper cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-cell-receptor-proclivity-helper-cells.html Immunology Sun, 29 Jul 2012 13:00:01 EST news262779741 When hospital patients need assistance breathing and are placed on a mechanical ventilator for days at a time, their lungs react to the pressure generated by the ventilator with an out-of-control immune response that can lead to excessive inflammation, new research suggests. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-lungs-hospital-ventilator-infection.html Medical research Wed, 18 Jul 2012 17:00:47 EST news261849639 Maternal smoking can lead to lung disease in babies, including asthma. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Respiratory Research shows that maternal smoking-related defects within the alveoli inside the lungs of offspring are associated with a disruption in retinoic acid signaling. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-maternal-disrupts-retinoid-pathways-fetal.html Health Thu, 31 May 2012 20:00:01 EST news257706394 Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) have shown that breast cancer cells that metastasize to the lung express a higher level of the protein peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2). The study suggests that the modulation of the levels of this protein could be a new therapeutic strategy to prevent lung metastases. The study results have been advanced in the online edition of the journal Oncogene. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-protein-pulmonary-metastases-breast-cancer.html Cancer Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:09:10 EST news253271343 Retinoic acid (vitamin A) and steroids are hormones found in our body that protect against oxidative stress, reduce inflammation and are involved in cellular differentiation processes. One of the characteristics of tumours is that their cells have lost the ability to differentiate; therefore these hormones have useful properties to prevent cancer. Currently, retinoic acid and steroids are being used to treat some types of leukaemia. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-brg1-mutations-confer-resistance-hormones.html Cancer Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:00:04 EST news251031006 From the cherry red tip of a lighted cigarette through the respiratory tract to vital lung cells, the havoc created by tobacco smoke seems almost criminal, activating genes and portions of the immune system to create inflammation that results in life-shortening emphysema, said researchers led by those at Baylor College of Medicine and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-destructive-path-cigarette-emphysema.html Medical research Wed, 18 Jan 2012 14:00:01 EST news246105182 (Medical Xpress) -- Innovative technology being pioneered at Cardiff to speed up the discovery of new drugs to tackle lung diseases could also dramatically reduce testing on animals. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-breakthrough-drug-discovery.html Medical research Fri, 25 Nov 2011 06:10:42 EST news241423834 A simple blood test could someday quantify a smoker's lung toxicity and danger of heart disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-blood-smokers-higher-heart-disease.html Cardiology Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:15:40 EST news238734900 If you smoke cigarettes, you have more in common with someone who has cystic fibrosis than you think. A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal shows that smoking cigarettes affects the lungs in a way that is very similar to cystic fibrosis, a life threatening disease affecting the lungs and other organs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-cigarettes-simulates-cystic-fibrosis.html Addiction Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:17:28 EST news237633431 Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified a molecular pathway that helps explain how an enzyme elevated in asthma patients can lead to increased mucus production and inflammation that is characteristic of the lung condition. Their findings, reported online in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveal unique interactions between biological molecules that could be targeted to develop new asthma treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-pitt-team-molecular-pathway-inflammation.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:30:04 EST news232035497 An international research team led by Queen's University have developed a ground breaking treatment for Cystic Fibrosis sufferers. The new drug will benefit sufferers who have the 'Celtic Gene', a genetic mutation which is particularly common in Ireland. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-scientists-drug-celtic-gene-cystic.html Medical research Mon, 20 Jun 2011 11:07:38 EST news227786841 Community-acquired pneumonia is the leading cause of infectious death among the elderly. Newly published research from The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio suggests why older people are vulnerable and offers a possible defense. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-aging-obsolete-cells-prime-lungs.html Medical research Thu, 26 May 2011 13:10:01 EST news225633570 Inhaling small amounts of hydrogen in addition to concentrated oxygen may help stem the damage to lung tissue that can occur when critically ill patients are given oxygen for long periods of time, according to a rat model study conducted by researchers in Pittsburgh. The study also found hydrogen initiates activation of heme-oxygenase (HO-1), an enzyme that protects lung cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-inhaling-hydrogen-lung-critically-ill.html Medical research Mon, 16 May 2011 16:29:00 EST news224782133 Changes in the ability of lung cells to divide may play a role in initiating or prolonging lung tissue inflammation, a hallmark of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study conducted by researchers in France. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-cell-division-abnormality-contributes-inflammation.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sun, 15 May 2011 11:23:29 EST news224677389 For the first time, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have identified a human lung stem cell that is self-renewing and capable of forming and integrating multiple biological structures of the lung including bronchioles, alveoli and pulmonary vessels. This research is published in the May 12, 2011 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-05-human-lung-stem-cell.html Medical research Wed, 11 May 2011 17:20:58 EST news224353212 MIT cancer biologists have identified a genetic change that makes lung tumors more likely to spread to other parts of the body. The findings, to be published in the April 6 online issue of Nature, offers new insight into how lung cancers metastasize and could help identify drug targets to combat metastatic tumors, which account for 90 percent of cancer deaths. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-biologists-genetic-tumors-body.html Cancer Wed, 06 Apr 2011 13:01:54 EST news221313703