https://medicalxpress.com/pulmonary-medicine-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Pulmonary medicine A randomized controlled trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of proximal hypoglossal nerve stimulation, or pHGNS, (an implanted stimulation therapy targeting specific sectors of nerves in the tongue) for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) found that pHGNS significantly reduced breathing interruptions during sleep and improved patient-reported daytime sleepiness without any significant adverse events. The study is published in Annals of Internal Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-implanted-nerve-obstructive-apnea-safe.html Mon, 20 Apr 2026 17:00:02 EDT news695893982 A new study from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Soroka University Medical Center, published in Sleep and Breathing, reveals a significant link between obstructive sleep apnea and skeletal muscle quality. This finding may indicate an increased risk of muscle deterioration with aging, something many of us are unaware of. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-obstructive-apnea-linked-poorer-muscle.html Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:20:02 EDT news695916541 A landmark trial presented at ESCMID Global 2026 shows that improving oral hygiene for hospital patients can reduce the risk of non-ventilator-associated hospital-acquired pneumonia (NV-HAP) by 60%. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-oral-halves-hospital-pneumonia-major.html Sun, 19 Apr 2026 18:00:04 EDT news695625439 Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common virus that can cause severe respiratory illness in infants and young children, including lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) such as bronchiolitis and pneumonia. It is a leading cause of infant hospitalization worldwide, with early-life infection linked to potential longer-term effects including recurrent wheeze or asthma, repeat hospital admissions and impaired lung health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-maternal-rsv-vaccination-infant-hospitalization.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 18:00:04 EDT news695625391 A diet rich in fruit, vegetables, and whole grains is generally recommended for better health and to lower the risk of cancer and other diseases. However, new research from USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of Keck Medicine of USC, presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research suggests that this type of diet may put non-smoking Americans under the age of 50 at greater risk of developing lung cancer. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-healthy-diets-expose-younger-smokers.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:00:03 EDT news695625539 A study published in Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry by University of Technology Sydney (UTS) researchers showed that even short-term vaping at exposure levels below typical daily human use resulted in measurable accumulation of toxic metals in lung tissue—including lead, copper and nickel. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-cigarette-devices-expose-users-toxic.html Fri, 17 Apr 2026 07:20:05 EDT news695627041 A new national cohort study provides important insights into the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The study shows that long-term disease-free survival rates are significantly higher than previous standard indicators suggest. The results, published in The Lancet Regional Health Europe, are based on the analysis of data from 1,299 adult patients treated between 2005 and 2021. The study was in collaboration with researchers from the clinical tuberculosis infrastructure (ClinTB) at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) at the Research Center Borstel, Leibniz Lung Center (FZB). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-term-multidrug-resistant-tuberculosis.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:40:04 EDT news695575021 First-line zongertinib showed antitumor activity in treatment-naive patients with advanced or metastatic HER2-mutant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), providing a safe and effective oral targeted treatment alternative to chemotherapy, according to researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-line-therapy-antitumor-patients-advanced.html Thu, 16 Apr 2026 17:20:06 EDT news695574482 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