Newswise--Asthma and gastroesophageal reflux (GER) are both common illnesses in children. GER in children often occurs without the typical symptoms of heartburn, and physicians frequently prescribe the acid reflux drug lansoprazole to supplement the standard inhaled steroid treatment for children with uncontrolled asthma regardless of GER symptoms. However, a randomized clinic trial conducted by the American Lung Association's Asthma Clinical Group found that the addition of lansoprazole does not improve ...

Children without symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux whose asthma was being poorly controlled with anti-inflammatory treatment did not have an improvement in symptoms or lung function with the added treatment of the proton pump inhibitor lansoprazole, compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the January 25 issue of JAMA. Use of lansoprazole was associated with increased adverse events."Asthma and gastroesophageal reflux (GER) disease are both common disorders in children, and ...

Newswise--Accelerated growth in the first three months of life, but not fetal growth, is associated with an increased risk of asthma symptoms in young children, according to a new study from The Generation R Study Group at Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands."We know that low birth weight is associated with an increased risk of asthma symptoms in children, but the effects of specific fetal and infant growth patterns on this risk had not been examined yet," said researcher Liesbeth Duijts, MD, PhD. ...

Newswise--There is no difference in early measures of pulmonary function, immunologic status or coagulation status after fresh versus standard issue single-unit red blood cell (RBC) transfusion, according to a new study from the Mayo Clinic. "Longer duration of RBC storage is thought to increase the risk of transfusion-related pulmonary complications," said Daryl J. Kor, assistant professor of anesthesiology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. "In our study of 100 intubated, mechanically ventilated ...

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support in awake, non-intubated patients may be an effective strategy for bridging patients to lung transplantation, according to a new study from Germany. "As waiting times for donor organs continue to increase, so does the need for bridging strategies for patients with end-stage lung disease awaiting transplantation," said Marius M.  Hoeper, MD, professor of medicine at the Hannover Medical School in Hannover, Germany. "Our ...

Newswise--Researchers have begun to identify which mutations and pathway changes lead to lung cancer in never-smokers--a first step in developing potential therapeutic targets.Never-smokers (defined as an individual who smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in his or her lifetime) are estimated to account for 10 percent of lung cancer cases. However, in the past, researchers have not examined this patient population as extensively as they have studied patients with lung cancer who smoked, according to Timothy ...

A person's emotional response after witnessing an unsettling or traumatic picture or event is greatly reduced if the person stays awake afterward, according to a recent study by University of Massachusetts Amherst sleep researchers. Further, if the scene is viewed again or a flashback memory occurs, it will be as upsetting as the first time for those who slept after viewing it but not for those who stayed awake.The study of 68 healthy female and 38 male (total 106) young adults between 18 and 30 years ...

MAYWOOD, Ill. -- Contrary to expectations, patients who died from smoke-inhalation injuries had lower inflammatory responses in their lungs than patients who survived, according to a study of 60 burn patients in from Loyola University's Burn Center.Researchers measured concentrations of 28 immune system modulators in fluid collected from the subjects' lungs of within 14 hours of burn and smoke-inhalation injuries. These modulators are proteins produced by leukocytes and other cells, including those that ...

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have shown that DNA changes in a gene that drives the growth of a form of lung cancer can make the cancer's cells resistant to cancer drugs. The findings show that some classes of drugs won't work, and certain types of so-called kinase inhibitors like erlotinib-may be the most effective at treating non-small cell lung cancers with those DNA changes. Some kinase inhibitors block a protein known as EGFR from directing cells to multiply.In their paper published online  in ...

A large-scale national study suggests low to moderate use of marijuana is less harmful to users' lungs than exposure to tobacco, even though the two substances contain many of the same components.This comprehensive study, led by UCSF and University of Alabama at Birmingham, collected data from more than 5,000 U.S. adults for more than 20 years. Data for the long-term effects of marijuana use on the pulmonary system has been scarce until nowWe found exactly what we thought we would find in relation to ...

Danville, Pa. -- Starting Feb. 1, 2012, Geisinger Health System will no longer hire job applicants who use tobacco products, including cigarettes, cigars, and chewing or smokeless tobacco."Geisinger is joining dozens of hospitals and medical organizations across the country that are encouraging healthier living, decreasing absenteeism and reducing health care costs by adopting strict policies that make smoking a reason to turn away job applicants," said Richard Merkle, chief human resources officer, ...

The Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) named Cindy Altman, BA, RPSGT, R. EEG/EP T., President of the Board of Directors. Her two-year term as President begins this month. Altman has been a member of the BRPT Board since 2010 serving as chair of the website development committee, an active participant on the exam development committee, and this past year as president-elect.  Altman is the technical director for the Creighton University Sleep Disorders Center in Omaha, Neb."I ...

The Department of Health and Human Services is accepting comments through Jan. 16 on draft recommendations for achieving 90 percent flu vaccination coverage among health care personnel, one of HHS' Healthy People 2020 goals. HHS' National Vaccine Program Office will host an informational webinar on the National Vaccine Advisory Committee's draft report and recommendations on Jan. 9 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. EST.  HHS expects to post registration information for the webinar online. The committee is ...

The World Health Organization has released mortality statistics for 2011 and a startling statistic about in-home causes of death surfaced. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, radon gas causes over 20,000 deaths annually in the United States. To put that into perspective, radon caused more deaths in 2011 than drunk driving, fires, and carbon monoxide.  The EPA is hoping to create awareness of this silent killer by declaring January National Radon Awareness Month.  Radon ...

A UT Southwestern Medical Center study using a sophisticated "glass mouse" research model has found that multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is more likely caused in patients by speedy drug metabolism rather than inconsistent doses, as is widely believed. The study is published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases."Tuberculosis is a common ailment, accounting for up to 3 percent of all deaths in many countries. Although effective therapy exists, there are still cases of treatment failure and drug ...