Five genetic regions implicated in cystic fibrosis severity If you have two faulty copies of the CFTR gene, you will have cystic fibrosis. But the severity of your disease will depend partly on many other genes. Five regions of the human genome are home to the genetic variations that play major roles in disease severity.
Air pollution, traffic linked to deaths, organ rejection in lung transplant patients Research shows that lung transplant patients in Europe who live on or near busy roads with high levels of air pollution are more likely to die or to experience chronic organ rejection, than those living in less polluted areas.
First classification of severe asthma Severe asthma can have a devastating effect on sufferers, affecting their ability to work or go to school and to lead normal lives. It is difficult to treat because it is not a single disease entity. Now, for the first time, a group of researchers has succeeded in defining three distinct types of severe asthma by analyzing sputum samples from a group of patients.
Pinpointing gene that regulates repair, regeneration in adult lungs The whimsically named sonic hedgehog gene, best known for controlling embryonic development, also maintains the normal physiological state and repair process of an adult healthy lung, if damaged.
Nanoparticulate carbon black particles tiny culprits that start emphysema When pathologists perform autopsies on smokers who died with severe emphysema, they find that lungs are black in appearance. Until recently, researchers and physicians could only guess at the composition of the material that gave the black color to the lungs of smokers. In two papers, researchers identify that black material as mostly insoluble nanoparticulate carbon black, tiny specks that result from the incomplete combustion of organic material, such as tobacco
