https://medicalxpress.com/pulmonary-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Pulmonary medicine Air pollution just isn't what it used to be. While levels of lead and sulfur dioxide have dropped due to environmental regulations, other threats to air quality persist. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-limit-health-posed-polluted-air.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 18:40:02 EDT news695281624 University of Colorado Denver Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor Chelsea Magin is developing a lung model to help advance the treatment of lung diseases which affect men and women differently. The artificial lung is made by combining donor cells and tissues with synthetic materials. The result behaves like a real lung—soft when healthy, stiff when sickly—allowing researchers to study diseases like pulmonary fibrosis and cancer more accurately. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-lung-fresh-air-personalized-treatment.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:20:01 EDT news695305435 NTU Singapore is working with China's Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) and Swedish biotechnology company Lipigon Pharmaceuticals AB to develop a new inhaled treatment aimed at helping patients recover faster from severe lung infections. The treatment is designed to reduce excessive inflammation in the lungs, which can continue even after viruses or bacteria have been cleared from the body. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-inhaled-rna-therapy-lung-inflammation.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 15:20:01 EDT news695309641 A computational study shows for the first time how different parts of the human airway experience levels of pressure and friction from breathing therapy devices. Using a patient-specific 3D airway model derived from CT imaging to simulate how breathing-support therapy behaves inside the human airway, University of Technology Sydney (UTS) researchers found the therapy doesn't affect all parts of the airway equally. The study shows the potential to support the design of better devices and personalized treatment settings for patients with conditions such as bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis and postoperative atelectasis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-devices-treatment-respiratory-disorders.html Sun, 12 Apr 2026 08:00:01 EDT news695035923 A new study suggests that COVID-19 may slightly increase the risk of lung cancer by triggering a biological chain reaction in the lungs, driven by the virus's spike protein, that promotes inflammation, scarring, and tumor-friendly conditions, especially in higher-risk groups like smokers; while the individual risk remains small, the findings are important because they reveal a plausible mechanism and potential targets for prevention and treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-covid-lingering-shadow-molecular-link.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 13:00:05 EDT news695043841 A new study co-led by the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) shows that some lung cancers can change identity as they evolve, shifting from one cancer type to another in ways that may make them more aggressive and harder to treat. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-lung-cancer-identity-plain-sight.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:00:05 EDT news694948861 Researchers have identified a new method for analyzing chest CT scans that may help physicians better understand the different forms of sarcoidosis, a complex inflammatory lung disease that affects more than 150,000 people in the United States. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-advanced-ct-scan-analysis-sarcoidosis.html Fri, 10 Apr 2026 09:40:02 EDT news695032261 Mount Sinai researchers have created an analytic tool using machine learning that can predict cardiovascular disease risk in millions of patients with obstructive sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder, according to findings recently published in Communications Medicine. The team said their study is the first to provide estimates of whether continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), a widely used therapy for obstructive sleep apnea, will increase or decrease an individual's cardiovascular risk. It highlights the potential for precision medicine and varied approaches to tailor clinical care and reduce cardiovascular disease risk in vulnerable patients. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ai-cpap-massively-heart-apnea.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 17:40:03 EDT news694971481 Asthma can lead to childhood hospitalizations, missed school days, missed workdays for caregivers, and a lower quality of life for both children and their caregivers. The global prevalence of asthma has increased over the past 50 years. Now a study published in PLOS Medicine by Annelise Blomberg at Lund University, Lund, Sweden, and colleagues suggests that high prenatal PFAS exposure may play a role. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-high-prenatal-exposure-pfas-childhood.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 14:00:04 EDT news694881061 A new flu treatment could drastically reduce one of flu's deadliest complications—bacterial pneumonia—by helping the lungs defend themselves, rather than targeting the virus directly. Influenza specialist Associate Professor Michelle Tate's latest research has shown that a synthetic peptide called LAT9997, delivered directly into the airway, can protect against both severe flu and the secondary bacterial infections that frequently follow it—often with fatal consequences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-flu-treatment-shields-lungs-pneumonia.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 13:20:01 EDT news694959563 The correlation between smoking and neurodegeneration is well-documented, with one study from 2011 finding that heavy smoking in midlife was associated with a greater than 100% increase in risk of dementia, Alzheimer's and vascular dementia more than two decades later. Dementia is a less-studied impact of smoking for a simple, terrible reason: It occurs later in life and smokers tend to die younger. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-dementia-lung-exosomes-disrupt-brain.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 18:20:03 EDT news694882891 In a preclinical study published in Cancer Research, researchers from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have identified one way that lung cancer becomes resistant to radiation therapy and then developed a strategy to overcome this challenge. Led by Boyi Gan, Ph.D., professor of Experimental Radiation Oncology, researchers discovered that the mitochondrial enzyme dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) can protect cancer cells from ferroptosis—an iron-dependent form of cell death triggered by radiation—thereby contributing to radiation therapy resistance in lung cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-strategy-enables-therapy-resistance-lung.html Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:20:01 EDT news694879622 Scientists have created a new "molecular map" uncovering how an important human receptor involved in blood clotting and inflammation works—an advance that could help us design better drugs for conditions such as pulmonary arterial hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. The study, led by an international team including researchers from Trinity College Dublin and published in Nature Communications, used advanced cryo-electron microscopy to capture high-res images of the thromboxane A2 receptor while it was active and primed to send signals across the membrane to the cell interior. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-molecular-treatments-heart-lung-diseases.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 18:20:03 EDT news694798081 Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide, accounting for nearly one in five cancer deaths—around 1.8 million lives lost each year. One of the main reasons is late diagnosis: in its early stages, the disease appears as extremely small nodules that are difficult to distinguish from healthy tissue, even for experienced radiologists. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-ai-doctors-lung-cancer-earlier.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:40:03 EDT news694779241 People whose sleep apnea changes dramatically from night to night are 30% more likely to have a heart attack, stroke, or heart failure, reveals a new study from Flinders University. The research, published in the journal SLEEP, shows that it is not just how severe sleep apnea is that matters, but how much it fluctuates, with wide night-to-night swings in breathing problems during sleep linked to a higher risk of serious heart disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-patterns-reveal-hidden-heart.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:20:06 EDT news694776661 A University of Alberta research team has found a genetic variant that can be used to identify which patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension need the most urgent care. "This could potentially save lives and health-care costs, and improve the well-being of both patients and their loved ones," says principal investigator Evangelos Michelakis, professor and associate chair of research for the Department of Medicine and director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-genetic-deadly-cardiovascular-disease.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:50:02 EDT news694774141 Mesothelioma, a rare cancer that usually starts in the lining around the lungs, has long been thought of as a condition that affects older men—especially those who may have been exposed to asbestos while working in manufacturing or construction. About 3,300 people are diagnosed with mesothelioma every year, according to the American Cancer Society. The average age at diagnosis is between 70 and 75. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-mesothelioma-younger-patients.html Tue, 07 Apr 2026 09:40:06 EDT news694773301 Southern California's Salton Sea was once a resort playground, with sunny beaches, celebrities and people waterskiing on the vast inland lake in the 1950s and '60s. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-toxic-california-salton-sea-children.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 21:40:01 EDT news694678148 A multidisciplinary research team has identified a faster way to determine which airborne chemicals pose a threat to human lungs. Led by an environmental health researcher with the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, the study in Inhalation Toxicology shows that lab-grown lung cells that behave like those inside the human body can reliably screen chemicals for respiratory toxicity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-fast-accurate-enables-airborne-chemical.html Mon, 06 Apr 2026 17:40:02 EDT news694707637 Results of a new study conclude that a pathology tool powered by artificial intelligence can predict whether a patient with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer will respond to platinum-based chemotherapy—before treatment has begun, and without additional biopsies. That means patients can avoid treatments that are unlikely to help them, have a chance to enroll earlier in clinical trials of newer drugs, and may get a clearer picture of their prognosis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-ai-tool-aggressive-small-cell.html Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:00:03 EDT news694177796 Children who live within 11 kilometers of the Salton Sea, a drying body of water with a high concentration of salts and contaminants in Imperial Valley, California, have slower lung function growth between ages 10 and 12 than children who live farther away. The impact is comparable to living within 500 meters of a freeway and could affect respiratory health into adulthood. The study was just published in JAMA Network Open. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-children-salton-sea-southern-california.html Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:00:03 EDT news694428121 New research to be presented at the European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2026, Istanbul, Turkey, 12–15 May) shows that those living with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have a 71% higher risk of cardiovascular events (CVEs) or death from any cause (all-cause mortality) compared with those not living with OSA. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-association-obstructive-apnea-mortality-cardiovascular.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 18:00:03 EDT news694337367 Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Tisch Cancer Center have found that adults aged 80 and older with early-stage lung cancer can safely undergo surgery and achieve outcomes comparable to younger patients, challenging longstanding assumptions about age and cancer treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-lung-cancer-surgery-safe-patients.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:20:03 EDT news694353661 Chronic breathlessness affects every part of a person's life—including their sex life, with people experiencing breathlessness saying they have greatly reduced satisfaction with their overall sexual life. Flinders University researchers have found from a national survey that the often-underplayed condition of chronic breathlessness can not only affect people's physical condition but also limit their enjoyment of such intimacies as sex. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-sex-life-breathlessness.html Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:00:05 EDT news694342093 In some non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), changes to the RET gene (known as RET fusions) can drive tumor growth. In a phase 1/2 clinical study with a 42-month-long follow-up period, researchers from Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute recently evaluated the long-term efficacy and safety of the FDA-approved drug pralsetinib, which targets RET. Investigators found that treatment led to durable responses with manageable safety profiles in 281 patients with advanced or metastatic RET fusion-positive NSCLCs. Results are published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-therapy-term-outcomes-patients-rare.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 17:20:06 EDT news694274718 As lung cancer screening identifies an estimated 1.6 million suspicious lung nodules each year in the U.S. alone, physicians face a challenge. Most peripheral pulmonary lesions are benign, yet the malignant minority represent the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. Robotic bronchoscopy may provide a less invasive and more precise approach to diagnosing lung cancer, suggests a five-year, multisite Mayo Clinic study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-robotic-bronchoscopy-safer-faster-path.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:40:05 EDT news694275961 A collaborative effort among researchers at the Henan Academy of Innovations in Medical Science, Zhengzhou University, and Shenzhen University School of Medicine has provided the first proof-of-principle study demonstrating that targeting a receptor on the surface of anti-inflammatory regulatory T cells (Tregs) can restore their function and alleviate asthma in mice. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-reactivation-dormant-regulatory-cells-alleviates.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 18:40:01 EDT news694192049 A new study from the University of Bergen shows that genes responsible for antibiotic resistance are present not only in individuals with lung disease, but also in people with healthy lungs. The researchers examined patients with COPD, asthma, pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and sarcoidosis, and compared them with healthy individuals. The results, now published in BMJ Open Respiratory Research, show that antibiotic resistance genes were present in all groups. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-diseased-healthy-lungs-genes-antibiotic.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:40:08 EDT news694193401 Asthma in older age is associated with other comorbidities, according to a study published in the Journal of Asthma and Allergy. Martyna Miodońska, from the Medical University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland, and colleagues conducted a multicenter cross-sectional study of 345 patients with asthma older than 60 years of age and 410 matched controls without obstructive lung disease to examine treatment patterns and asthma control. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-asthma-older-age-linked-comorbidities.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 17:10:06 EDT news694168416 Scientists at Florida International University have developed a promising new compound that could slow the progression of Parkinson's disease and protect against life-threatening lung injury by targeting a key process inside cells. The research centers on dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1), which helps control how mitochondria—often described as the powerhouses of cells—divide and function. When DRP1 becomes overactive, it can lead to impaired mitochondrial function, inflammation, and cell damage linked to disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-discovery-parkinson-disease-life-threatening.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:10:01 EDT news694174731