A better look at the lungs

A better look at the lungs

The National Institutes of Health awarded a biomedical engineer at Washington University in St. Louis a 4-year, $1.7 million grant to attempt to develop a new way to image airflow in lungs. The research could someday make diagnoses of lung disease easier and more cost-effective.
Surgeons test technology with potential to expand lung transplant donor pool

Surgeons test technology with potential to expand lung transplant donor pool

As part of a clinical trial at the School of Medicine, lung transplant surgeons are evaluating whether a sophisticated device can recondition subpar donor lungs to make the organs suitable for transplant. The device has potential to expand the number of donor lungs that can be transplanted, potentially helping the 1,480 patients currently waiting for lung transplants.
Study sheds light on why parasite makes TB infections worse​​​

Study sheds light on why parasite makes TB infections worse​​​

Scientists have shown how a parasitic worm infection common in the developing world increases susceptibility to tuberculosis. The study demonstrated that treating the parasite reduces lung damage seen in mice that also are infected with tuberculosis, thereby eliminating the vulnerability to tuberculosis (TB) that the parasite is known to cause.

Finding points to a cause of chronic lung disease

Scientists have long suspected that respiratory viruses play a critical role in the development of chronic lung diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Studying mouse and cell models of this process, researchers now have shown how immune cells dispatched to the lung to destroy a respiratory virus can fail to disperse after their job is done, setting off a chain of inflammatory events that leads to long-term lung problems.

NIH to fund ‘omics’ research into lung disease

The School of Medicine has been awarded a career-development grant to support junior faculty members interested in using “omics” technologies to diagnose, treat and prevent lung diseases. The grant, funded by the National Institutes of Health, will help train young pulmonary scientists to apply new analytic omics tools to the study of lung diseases.

Scientists use PET scans to monitor lung inflammation noninvasively

In this PET image, the arrow shows inflammation of the lungs.A noninvasive approach for assessing lung inflammation should accelerate efforts to develop drugs for inflammatory lung conditions like cystic fibrosis and pneumonia, scientists at the School of Medicine report. Researchers have used positron emission tomography (PET) scans to monitor artificially induced inflammation in the lungs of healthy volunteers. The new imaging process may help doctors monitor the conditions of patients with inflammatory lung diseases and should make it easier for investigators to test potential anti-inflammatory drugs.

Scientists use PET scans to monitor lung inflammation noninvasively

In this PET image, the arrow shows inflammation of the lungs.A noninvasive approach for assessing lung inflammation should accelerate efforts to develop drugs for inflammatory lung conditions like cystic fibrosis and pneumonia, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. Researchers have used positron emission tomography (PET) scans to monitor artificially induced inflammation in the lungs of healthy volunteers. The new imaging process may help doctors monitor the conditions of patients with inflammatory lung diseases and should make it easier for investigators to test potential anti-inflammatory drugs.

Cigarette smoke worsens respiratory infections in infants

Dr. Mario Castro and nurse Michelle Jenkerson visit with patient Wil Klages and his mom, Peg Klages.Studying Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) to learn what puts children at risk for the most severe infections, Washington University researchers at St. Louis Children’s Hospital found that a child’s age at the time of infection and whether that child lives with a smoker could mean the difference between the sniffles and the intensive care unit.

Cigarette smoke worsens respiratory infections in infants

Dr. Mario Castro and nurse Michelle Jenkerson visit with patient Wil Klages and his mom, Peg Klages.Studying Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) to learn what puts children at risk for the most severe infections, Washington University researchers at St. Louis Children’s Hospital found that a child’s age at the time of infection and whether that child lives with a smoker could mean the difference between the sniffles and the intensive care unit.