http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Young children and the elderly are especially susceptible to respiratory syncytial virus. The three-dimensional structure of respiratory syncytial virus has been solved by an international team from Finland and Switzerland. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-closer-vaccine-common-respiratory-disease.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:00:21 EST news290695409 (HealthDay)—Many pre-term babies suffer recurrent episodes of wheezing. Now, researchers say a common infection is a likely culprit and they may be able to prevent the breathing problems. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-palivizumab-days-wheezing-preemies.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 09 May 2013 07:40:02 EST news287302721 An atomic-level snapshot of a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) protein bound to a human antibody represents a leap toward developing a vaccine for a common—and sometimes very serious—childhood disease. The findings, by scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, define the vulnerable shape of a critical RSV component called the fusion glycoprotein. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-clues-vaccine-infant-respiratory-illness.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:00:18 EST news286116578 The most common cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants and young children, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), can be transferred during pregnancy to an unborn baby, according to Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital research published online this week in the journal PLOS ONE. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-transmission-respiratory-viruses-utero.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:31:44 EST news285525096 About 90 percent of children with two copies of a common genetic variation and who wheezed when they caught a cold early in life went on to develop asthma by age 6, according to a study to be published March 28 by the New England Journal of Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-childhood-asthma-tied-combination-genes.html Immunology Wed, 27 Mar 2013 17:00:07 EST news283618892 Dennis Voelker, PhD, professor of medicine at National Jewish Health, has been awarded a U.S. patent (#8,367,643) for various lipids and related compounds that can inhibit inflammation and infection in the lungs, especially those caused by influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Over the past several years, Dr. Voelker has published several scientific papers describing a naturally occurring lipid in the lungs, POPG (palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylglycerol), that reduces inflammation and inhibits infection by the influenza virus and RSV. The patent covers POPG and other naturally occurring lipids in the lungs as well as related anionic lipids. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-antiviral-lipid-patent-lipids-lung.html Medical research Tue, 05 Mar 2013 11:19:38 EST news281704768 An important predictor of the severity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants may be what their mothers ate during pregnancy, according to a Vanderbilt study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-maternal-diet-important-predictor-severity.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 04 Mar 2013 10:04:32 EST news281613862 New Vanderbilt-led research published in the Feb. 14 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine has identified the relatively unknown human metapneumovirus (MPV) as the second most common cause of severe bronchiolitis in young children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-reveals-clues-childhood-respiratory-virus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:10:04 EST news279996748 Researchers at Imperial College London have discovered a new way in which a very common childhood disease could be treated. In the first year of life, 65 per cent of babies get infected by Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). This causes bronchiolitis, and is thought to kill nearly 200,000 children every year worldwide. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-respiratory-syncytial-virus-treatment-viral.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 04 Feb 2013 15:00:11 EST news279196354 Infants with severe lower respiratory tract infection caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) may have a dysfunctional innate immune response that relates to the severity of their disease. These are the findings from a Nationwide Children's Hospital study appearing in a recent issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-infants-severe-rsv-disease-immunosuppressed.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 10 Dec 2012 13:12:22 EST news274367529 (Medical Xpress)—Research by the University of Warwick indicates that vaccinating families could protect young babies against a common winter virus which can be fatal for infants under six months. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-rsv-potential-vaccine-strategies-babies.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:41:54 EST news272187699 Children living in low-income urban areas appear especially prone to developing asthma, possibly related to infections they acquire early in life. In a new study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, available online, researchers from the University of Wisconsin in Madison investigated viral respiratory illnesses and their possible role in the development of asthma in urban versus suburban babies. The differences in viral illness patterns they found provide insights that could help guide the development of new asthma treatments in children. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-city-infants-patterns-viral-respiratory.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 26 Sep 2012 00:00:01 EST news267807835 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have shown in an animal model that a common childhood virus disables the normal immune tolerance transferred from the mother to child through breast milk, leading to increased susceptibility for allergic asthma later in life. Their findings were reported in the online version of Nature Medicine. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-team-childhood-viral-infection-allergic.html Immunology Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:50:01 EST news266662590 RSV, a virus that causes respiratory infections in infants and young children, selectively kills cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone, researchers from the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio said. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-childhood-virus-rsv-adult-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:06:40 EST news266162787 House dust from homes with dogs appears to protect against infection with a common respiratory virus that is associated with the development of asthma in children. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, present their findings today at the 2012 General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-dog-associated-house-respiratory-infection-linked.html Immunology Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:00:02 EST news259340253 (Medical Xpress) -- Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a common virus that infects the lungs and breathing passage ways. Though it may only produce minor cold symptoms in adults, it can lead to serious illness in young children and those with compromised immune systems. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-common-virus-life-threatening-conditions-children.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:10:44 EST news251370638 (Medical Xpress) -- Human rhinovirus (HRV), also known as the common cold, can be uncommonly serious for certain children, a study led by a Vanderbilt University Medical Center pediatrician shows. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-01-reveal-darker-side-common-cold.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 09 Jan 2012 08:39:34 EST news245320756 A natural lipid in the fluid lining the lungs inhibits influenza infections in both cell cultures and mouse models, according to researchers at National Jewish Health. These findings, combined with previous studies demonstrating effectiveness against respiratory syncytial virus, suggest that the molecule, known as POPG, may have broad antiviral activity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-lipid-blocks-influenza-infection.html Medical research Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:05:52 EST news240066342 Researchers at the University of Toronto, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), St. Paul's Hospital and the University of British Columbia have identified a new treatment target for a virus that causes severe lung infections and an estimated 10% of common colds. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-pathway-infection-common-potentially-life-threatening.html Medical research Mon, 15 Aug 2011 11:08:34 EST news232625297 (PhysOrg.com) -- Infectious disease is a huge cause of death globally, and is a particular threat to newborns whose immune systems respond poorly to most vaccines. A new approach developed at Children's Hospital Boston, using an adjuvant (an agent to stimulate the immune system) along with the vaccine, shows promise in a study of blood from Gambian infants. Results will appear in the open-access journal PLoS ONE on April 13. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-advance-newborn-vaccine-approach.html Medical research Wed, 13 Apr 2011 17:41:26 EST news221935261