28th August 2022.
DNA is normally intracellular. Injured cells can sometimes extrude their DNA strands into the blood stream. The quatitative measurement of these cell free strands of DNA (cfDNA) in the blood stream has recently been found to be a reliable biomarker to predict the severity of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension is a disease wherein the pressure in the blood vessels carrying blood from the heart to the lungs is significantly increased causing an increase in its resistance to flow through the small blood vessels of the lungs leading to catastrophic failure of the right side of the heart.
14th August 2022.
According to the International Agency for the study of Lung Cancer, if you have been exposed to outdoor atmospheric pollutants particularly with particles more than 2.5 microns in size, you are at a very high risk of developing lung cancer even if you have never smoked! Read more about this startling finding.
28th June 2022.
Immunotherapy is an emerging method of treatment for lung cancer. However, like chemotherapy, it could cause serious side-effects in some individuals. The ability to reliably predict who could be most prone to these side-effects could lie in the analysis of the HLA antigenic structure of the subject according to recent research published in the European Journal of Cancer. Read more.
7th June 2022.
A comprehensive review of the physiological basis of Pulmonary Hypertension (a state of high pressure in the blood vessels carrying blood from the heart to the lungs) has been recently published by the European Respiratory Society.
28th May 2022.
The European Respiratory Society has recently published a comprehensive review of the long COVID syndrome and it management in its flagship journal the European Respiratory Journal.
21st May 2022.
It is now well known that some individuals are prone to the dreaded long COVID syndrome even after a mild initial illness. In a recent study published in the Lancet, the authors found that symptoms of long COVID could last as long as 2 years even after a mild initial illness. The pathogenesis and prognosis of long COVID remains unclear and needs further research.
14th May 2022.
Microplastics have been detected in human lungs for the first time. This finding in a recently published study is a stark reminder of the magnitude of silent pollution from microplastics that exists today.
7th May 2022.
COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is common in smokers but is noted with increasing frequency in “never smokers” as well. Researchers have been studying COPD in never smokers and have recently published their results in the Lancet. According to the authors of the study, possible mechanisms for the pathogenesis of COPD in never-smokers include inflammation, oxidative stress, airway remodelling, and accelerated lung ageing.
28th April 2022
The presence of Emphysema (on CT scan) increases the risk of lung cancer. The more severe the emphysema, the higher the risk according to recent research published in the journal Radiology (the official publication of the Radiological Society of North America)
21st April 2022.
For the first time, microplastics have been discovered deep in the lungs of living human beings according to a report discussed extensively at the World Economic Forum. Yes it is possible to breathe in microplastics!
14th April 2022
Many subjects recovering from COVID-19 pneumonia have CT evidence of damage to their lungs that persists upto a full year after the onset of symptoms, according to a new study published in the journal Radiology, the official publication of the Radiological Society of North America.
7th April 2022
A new type of cell has been discovered deep inside human lungs which have regenerative potential has recently been discovered by researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Their work and publication in the journal “Nature”, analyzed human lung tissue and identified the new cells they called respiratory airway secretory cells (RASCs). RASCs cells line the tiny airways deep in the lungs, adjacent to the alveoli where oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange happens. The authors showed that RASCs have stem-cell-like potential enabling them to regenerate other cells that are essential for the normal functioning of alveoli. They also found convincing evidence that smoking and smoking-related chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) disrupts the regenerative functions of RASCs
28th March 2022.
Lying on your back (prone position) is very useful in any hypoxemic respiratory failure including that caused by COVID 19 according to a meta-analysis of several research studies, recently published in the Lancet.
21st March 2022.
Long term pulmonary sequelae after an acute COVID19 infection have been studied and published recently in the journal Radiology.
14th March 2022.
Lung damage may persist long after apparent recovery from COVID pneumonia according to recent research published in the journal Radiology (the official publication of the Radiological Society of North America.)
7th March 2022.
Mycobacteria are a group of disease causing bacteria that leprosy and tuberculosis in humans. A recent study by scientists at Hiroshima University found that these mycobacteria are tagged with red blood cells at lung infection sites. This interaction had escaped scientific notice for 140 years since the discovery of the mycobacterium that causes tuberculosis. The research was published in Microbiology Spectrum (publication by the American Society of Microbiology), and threw light on the interaction of mycobacteria with red blood cells and its role in the causation of lung disease.
28th February 2022.
According to a recent study published in the journal “Radiology” (the official publication of the Radiological Society of North America), Xenon MRIs (Xe129 MRI) are superior to conventional CT scans to detect lung abnormalities in COVID 19 patients, particularly COVID long haulers. Xe129 MRIs can pick up lung abnormalities in COVID 19 long haulers even when the HRCT chest is within normal limits.
21st February 2022.
The official protocol for the management of hospitalised COVID 19 patients has recently been published by the European Respiratory Society. Read more.
14th February 2022.
A high Monocyte count on the differential WBC count could be an indicator of impending Interstitial Lung Disease according to recent research published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. Read more.
7th February 2022.
Up to 75,000 more COVID deaths by the end of Feruary 2022. Ominous prediction by the CDC.
28th January 2022
A chilling prediction about future pandemics has been recently published in the Lancet. “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”.
21st January 2022.
Vaccines have a definite protective effect in preventing severe COVID disease during the acute infection. In a recently published study in the Lancet, it was found that vaccines also have a significant beneficial effect in reducing the incidence of long COVID (by upto 50%) in patients who have recently had the COVID 19 infection.
14th January 2022
Like in many other situations in ventilated patients, an early tracheostomy improves outcomes in patients with COVID 19 who require ventilatory support to tide over hypoxaemia according to recent research published in the journal “Chest” (the official publication of the American College of Chest Physicians)
7th January 2022
Venous thrombo-embolism (VTE) is a dreaded complication of deep vein thrombosis of the legs which sometimes causes catastrophic Pulmonary Embolism (occlusion of branches of the Pulmonary arteries). The American College of Chest Physicians has recently updated their guidelines on the prevention and treatment of VTE (Venous thrombo-embolism)
1st January 2022
Patients who are disproportionately fat around the waist and hips (Metabolic syndrome) have a very high risk for severe ARDS (Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome) with COVID 19 infection according to a recently published study. This risk is an addition to a big list of medical risks that patients with metabolic syndrome have to contend with. There are multisystem benefits to maintaining an appropriate body weight!