Spheroid Stem Cell Treatment for Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) Shows Promise

In a small pilot study, researchers from North Carolina State University have demonstrated a rapid, simple way to generate large numbers of lung stem cells for use in disease treatment. This method of harvesting and growing a patient's own lung stem cells shows promise in mice for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and could one day provide human IPF sufferers with an effective, less invasive method of treatment for their disease.

The idea of using the body's own cells to fight diseases is not new, but current methods of isolating stem cells from bone marrow, fat tissue or cord blood are time consuming, costly and often wasteful. "In current stem cell harvesting, just the process of sorting the stem cells can damage them, wasting not only the cells, but also time and money," says Ke Cheng, lead researcher on the project. "We wanted to see if we could take healthy stem cells from an organ while they were still in a supportive environment, recreate and enhance that environment outside the body to encourage stem cell reproduction, then reintroduce those cells into a damaged organ to treat disease." Cheng is an associate professor of regenerative medicine at NC State's College of Veterinary Medicine and the UNC-Chapel Hill/NC State joint department of biomedical engineering.

The image above are lung stem cells (colored red and green) residing in a cultured lung spheroid.

8% of Childhood Asthma Attributed To Traffic and Roadway Related Pollution

Asthma is a chronic and long term medical condition that causes the passageways of to the lungs to swell and narrow affecting breathing. Asthma has no cure but can be self managed.

Patients affected by asthma experience difficulty in breathing, wheezing, shortness of breath, tightening of the chest, and coughing. The passageways called bronchioles are inflammed which restricts the airflow into and out of the lungs. The inflammation is aggravated by mucus production and the tightening of muscles in the bronchial tree. This reduces the airflow and causes a wheezing sound from the patient as he tries to breath in enough air into the lungs.

People with asthma have oversensitive bronchioles. Certain substances called "Asthmatic triggers" irritate these airways which in turn start an asthma attack. These triggers are mostly external in nature such as chemicals, dust, mold and mildew, house dust mites, pollen, animal fur, cigarette smoke. Chest infections such as the common cold also can trigger an asthma attack. In some cases, even taking aspirin can cause an episode.

Although there is no cure for asthma, it is easily managed through the asthma medication. Inhaled steroids prevent the swelling of the airways and also quick acting bronchodilators which are also inhaled, mitigate the symptoms when an attack happens.

Avoiding places where asthma triggers are prevalent greatly helps in controlling the disease.

Near-roadway air pollution a major contributor to asthma in Los Angeles County, USC research finds

Research conducted at the University of Southern California (USC) indicates that at least 8 percent of the more than 300,000 cases of childhood asthma in Los Angeles County can be attributed to traffic-related pollution at homes within 75 meters (a little less than 250 feet) of a busy roadway.

The study also indicates that previous estimates of childhood asthma exacerbation related to air pollution may have underestimated the true burden of exposure on society. The research was published online Sept. 24, 2012, in Environmental Health Perspectives and was conducted in collaboration with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute and Sonoma Technology, Inc. The study focused on the Los Angeles basin.

Researchers Develop Breath Analyzing Test To Diagnose Malignant and Benign Pulmonary Nodules

Pulmonary nodules or lung nodules are small masses of tissues in the lung. These nodules are common and are usually benign. Lung nodules are around 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) to 25 millimeter (1 inch) small. Anything larger than 25 millimeters may be cancerous.

An early test to diagnose a pulmonary nodule is to compare past x-ray or CT scan to the present one. This shows whether the nodule has significantly grown in size since the last scan or x-ray. If the nodule hasn't increased in size, it is most probably benign (non-cancerous).

Non-cancerous pulmonary nodules can be formed for a variety of reasons. These are infections, hamartoma (normal cells clumped together), cysts, and abnormalities in the blood flow and blood vessels. Constant monitoring of the nodule and comparative imaging test may determine the course of action in treating this type of pulmonary nodule. More often than not, it requires minimal or no treatment.

Study shows breath analysis could help diagnose pulmonary nodules

A pilot study, published in the October 2012 issue of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer's (IASLC) Journal of Thoracic Oncology, showed that breath testing could be used to discriminate between benign and malignant pulmonary nodules. The study looked at 74 patients who were under investigation for pulmonary nodules and attended a referral clinic in Colorado between March 2009 and May 2010.

Researchers from Israel and Colorado collected exhaled breath from each patient, analyzing the exhaled volatile organic compounds using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and information from chemical nanoarrays, which have been developed by Prof. Hossam Haick and his colleagues in the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. The patients also underwent a bronchoscopy, wedge resection and/or lobectomy, whichever was required for final diagnosis. Nodules that either regressed or remained stable over a 24-month period were considered benign.