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Salve for the Lungs: Aspirin might prevent asthma Ben Harder Regular use of aspirin may prevent healthy adults from developing asthma, according to a 5-year study of male doctors. Inflammation in the lungs characterizes asthma. During an attack, inflamed airways constrict, obstructing air flow. The disease affects about 5 percent of men and more than 8 percent of women and children. It most frequently develops during childhood, and some kids outgrow it. For the current study, epidemiologist Tobias Kurth of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and his colleagues analyzed data on some 22,000 male physicians who had participated in...

Hi all, A dear friend of my wife's and mine is very sick. She has a lung disease that no one can figure out. Her doctors at UCLA have said they have never seen anything like this. The symptoms most closely resemble rheumatoid and lupus, I guess. She's 28, and has emphysema, but has never smoked, nor lived with a smoker. She is on the verge of being put on the lung transplant list, but at her age, her immune system might be too strong for new lungs. Here is the link to her blog if you want to learn...

Just a heads up to those who do home medical care esp with those with pulomonary issues. We could not figure out why lung issues started, no infection. We have been self sufficiant after training (on going and many decades) and Doctors to support us to do home health care. However this last week with neb treatments ect ect..the lungs are really junky. Well the air is stagnent. So if others are having issues we just want to remind them to sit up often (our situtation being quad is no easy but ya do what you need to) or what...

Discovery step toward developing treatment for various lung diseasesResearchers at the University of Minnesota have, for the first time, coaxed umbilical cord blood stem cells to differentiate into a type of lung cell.  The cord blood cells differentiated into a type of lung cell called type II alveolar cells. These cells are responsible for secreting surfactant, a substance which allows the air sacs in the lungs to remain open, allowing air to move in and out of the sacs. The cells are also responsible for helping to repair the airway after injury.  "In the future, we may be able to...

A quiet revolution in the world of lung transplants is saving the lives of people who, just two years ago, would have died on the waiting list. In the past 16 months, waits have shortened, lists have shrunk, and the number of lung transplants has gone up. Further improvements are expected this year. The changes have all but erased the need for transplants from live donors — desperate, last-ditch operations requiring two donors per patient, usually relatives and friends who risk major surgery in hopes of rescuing a loved one whose time is running out. “It’s almost as if it’s...

A MAJOR investigation has been launched at a Dublin hospital after the remains of a British tourist were sent home containing two hearts and four lungs. The organs were discovered inside the body of 55-year-old Louis Selo during a second post-mortem examination in the UK. Mr Selo, from New Malden in Surrey, died of a massive heart attack at Dublin Airport on 2 August. Mr Selo hit the headlines five years ago when he flew his son to Australia for extremely rare brain surgery.

LOS ANGELES -- Hacking and gasping, Irma Ortiz could cart her groceries only so far before she'd catch other shoppers glaring at her. Mortified, she'd abandon her cart on the spot and bolt for the door. Frank Herrera could gun his dirt bike only so far before choking on the rush of air. Go. Stop. Go. Stop. Exasperated, he gave up riding. Ortiz, 44, and Herrera, 34, are odd candidates for lung transplants, being nonsmokers and having considerable youth on their side. How they lost 70 to 80 percent of their breathing capacity is no less astonishing. They acquired the...

NEW YORK -- A 41-year-old paramedic who worked at a morgue for months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center was buried Monday after dying of an asbestos-related cancer. Deborah Reeve, a 17-year paramedic, died on March 15 of mesothelioma, a lung cancer associated with exposure to asbestos, her family said. Reeve developed a cough in late 2003 and retired at the end of 2004 after becoming too ill to work. Her doctors and family say her cancer was caused by exposure to toxic dust from the World Trade Center site. City health officials say it's...

Vitamin D 'key for healthy lungs' Vitamin D is essential for the processing of calcium Vitamin D could play a role in keeping the lungs healthy, research suggests. Patients with higher vitamin D levels in their blood had significantly better lung function, a University of Auckland team found in a study of 14,091 people. The difference between the two was more marked than that between smokers and those who had quit, the study published in the journal Chest said. Dietary supplements could boost lung function, the team suggested, but they added that more research was needed. "Low levels of vitamin...

Over 3.1 million Americans have been diagnosed with emphysema, and its aftermath: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is the fourth-highest cause of death in the US. (The article describes joint US-Israel clinical trials of a new non-invasive approach to treating emphysema) The technique involved injecting the lungs with material described as "biological glue" which completely destroyed the cell connections in the damaged portions and "sealed them up," combined with antibiotics to prevent infection. In the sheep, the damaged lung areas collapsed and scarred, leaving only the healthier, better-functioning parts of the lung intact - the technique essentially reduced the...

Whooping Cough Outbreak Communities throughout the U.S. are experiencing whooping cough (pertussis) outbreaks - the worst in 40 years. If the school nurse or the health department informs you that there is a pertussis outbreak in your school or community, you may need to call your pediatrician. The school or health department will tell you if your child was directly exposed and requires antibiotics. Health departments across the country are acting quickly to prevent the spread of pertussis, so your cooperation in contacting your pediatrician is crucial. Please follow the instruction of the health department. The care of children in...

EPA Studies Chemicals Emitted From Microwave Popcorn Linked to Lung Disease Mar 11, 2004 By Connie Farrow/ Associated Press Writer The Environmental Protection Agency is studying the chemicals released into the air when a bag of microwave popcorn is popped or opened. Exposure to vapors from butter flavoring in microwave popcorn has been linked to a rare lung disease contracted by factory workers in Missouri, Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has said it suspects the chemical diacetyl caused the illnesses. However, health officials insist people who microwave popcorn and eat it at home...

Precious Prayer Warriors, My husband is finally stabilized in his breathing. Today they drained fluid from his lungs and took another CAT Scan. They found that the mass is outside the lung but he has blood clots in his lung. So tomorrow they'll take a closer look at that and deal with it first. He's doing much better and I can't tell you how relieved I am. I thankyou all from your prayers and support. I can't tell you how much it means to me. EW

My precious Prayer Warriors, Once again, we need your help and love. I had to admit Norman to the hospital yesterday. I don't understand why, because he seemed to be doing much better. His attitude was terrific, we had a peace, and I was able to get more food in him. But when he had the biopsy, he began with immediate severe pain, sweats, and more labored breathing. Yesterday when he got up he told me he didn't know whether it was morning or night and he couldn't remember our daughter's name. So I prayed all the while he was...

LONDON (Reuters) - Smoking cannabis is not the harmless recreational activity it may seem because it can cause lung damage, researchers said Friday. Regularly smoking three or four joints a week, even for less than six years, can impair lung function and rob the body of antioxidants that protect cells against damage that can lead to heart disease and cancer. "Smoking cannabis on a regular basis actually depletes your lung of protective antioxidant substances...and this may have chronic long-term implications for young individuals," said Dr Sarah Nuttall of the University of Birmingham in central England. In a small study involving...

HONGKONG health officials said on Saturday they have adjusted their treatment of Sars as they revealed that 10 per cent of patients thought to have recovered from the virus could suffer lasting damage to their lungs. The government's decision to adjust the treatment protocol came as the city recorded two more deaths and seven new Sars cases, bringing the territory's death toll to 212 from 1,674 infections. Director of Health, Dr Yeoh Eng Kiong, said that the decision to adjust the treatment for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (Sars) had been taken after studies from the Hong Kong University and Chinese...

My sister was diagnosed with a rare lung disease on Friday, Interstatial Lung Disease. The prognosis is terminal. She is only 29 and in otherwise good health.Appearantly, an infection, the nature of which is unknown, is producing a constant state of pneumonia. Since the doctors don't know the nature of the infection, they can not stop it. It is causing scar tissue to form all throughout the lungs. Scar tissue isn't very elastic and will not permit oxygen to travel from the lungs to the blood.End result is that the doctor said in 1 to 2 years she will suffocate.Requesting...