All posts tagged: Lungs

Catching a cold can delay cancer from spreading to the lungs

Catching a cold can delay cancer from spreading to the lungs

Published by skeptic

The lungs are one of the most common places for cancers to spread to from elsewhere in the body CAVALLINI JAMES/BSIP/Universal Images Group/Getty Images Respiratory infections seem to temporarily reduce the spread of cancer to the lungs from elsewhere in the body. Infecting mice with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – which causes cold-like symptoms and infects nearly everyone by age 2 – helped to prevent breast cancer cells from taking hold in their lungs. This has raised hopes that the same mechanism, which involves activating infection-fighting proteins, could one day be utilised in a drug. Most cancer deaths occur when tumour cells spread from their original location in the body. They can often be treated with surgery or radiation in the early stages, but once the cancer has spread, “everything is much more difficult, and treatment success really diminishes”, says David Withers at Oxford University, who wasn’t involved in the research. The lungs are one of the most common sites for cancer to spread to, which has made the role of respiratory infections like flu, covid-19 …

An expert explains how to protect your lungs from hayfever, dust and damp

An expert explains how to protect your lungs from hayfever, dust and damp

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore As spring unfolds, bringing with it clear blue skies and blooming flowers, many are enjoying the seasonal shift. However, for a significant number, this period signals a heightened concern for their respiratory health. Karen Spillett, deputy head of health advice at the charity Asthma + Lung UK, has explained how this time of year can profoundly impact lung function. This is particularly so for those with existing conditions such as asthma, and has provided useful practical tips for managing these symptoms. Pollen can trigger your lungs in spring (PA/Alamy) What can trigger your lungs in spring? Pollen “Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen and if you have a lung condition your airways tend to be quite sensitive anyway and something like pollen can make them more sensitive,” says Spillett. “This can lead to symptoms such as wheezing a little …

How to look after your lungs this spring

How to look after your lungs this spring

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore As the seasons begin to change, many people have welcomed the clear blue skies and blooming flowers. However, others might be focusing more on the impact spring has started to have on their lungs. We spoke to Karen Spillett, deputy head of health advice at the charity Asthma + Lung UK, who explained how this time of year can affect lung health, especially for those with existing conditions such as asthma, and shared some useful practical tips for managing these symptoms. What can trigger your lungs in spring? Pollen “Hay fever is an allergic reaction to pollen and if you have a lung condition your airways tend to be quite sensitive anyway and something like pollen can make them more sensitive,” says Spillett. “This can lead to symptoms such as wheezing a little bit more, feeling more breathless and more tight …

Alzheimer’s may start with inflammation in the skin, lungs or gut

Alzheimer’s may start with inflammation in the skin, lungs or gut

Published by skeptic

Amyloid plaques in the brain are a defining feature of Alzheimer’s disease, but what if the roots of the condition start elsewhere in the body? Alamy Alzheimer’s disease has long been viewed as something that originates inside the brain, but an in-depth genomic analysis suggests it may initially triggered by inflammation in distant organs like the skin, lungs or gut – perhaps decades before a person’s memory starts to decline. This radical reframing of the disease may explain why Alzheimer’s drugs have been disappointing to date, because they act too late in the disease process. Instead, we may need to redirect our efforts towards addressing inflammation in other parts of the body. “As neuroscientists, we tend to be very brain-centric, but this study really shines a spotlight on the fact that the brain is not disconnected from the rest of the body, and when changes happen in the rest of the body, it affects how the brain functions,” says Donna Wilcock at Indiana University, who wasn’t involved in the research. “Even though Alzheimer’s is a …

New nasal vaccine protects lungs for months against viruses, bacteria, and allergens

New nasal vaccine protects lungs for months against viruses, bacteria, and allergens

Published by Jenni Sidey

A vaccine usually trains your immune system to recognize one target. Here, the target is basically “anything that doesn’t belong in the lungs.” That is the surprising promise behind a new mouse study from Stanford Medicine researchers and collaborators. The team reports an intranasal vaccine formula that protected mice for months against several respiratory viruses, two bacteria that often cause hospital infections, and even an allergen linked to asthma. The findings are published in Science. “I think what we have is a universal vaccine against diverse respiratory threats,” said Bali Pulendran, PhD, the Violetta L. Horton Professor II and a professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford. Haibo Zhang, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in Pulendran’s lab, is the study’s lead author. Bali Pulendran, Violetta L. Horton Professor, Director, Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection and Professor of Microbiology and Immunology. (CREDIT: Jim Gensheimer) A different bet than “match the antigen” For more than two centuries, vaccine design has leaned on one big idea: antigen specificity. You show the body a harmless version of a pathogen’s …

World’s oldest cold virus found in 18th-century woman’s lungs

World’s oldest cold virus found in 18th-century woman’s lungs

Published by skeptic

Historic anatomical preparations from the late 1700s in the Hunterian Anatomy Museum Anatomy Museum © The Hunterian, University of Glasgow A cold virus that infected a woman in London about 250 years ago has been identified by genetic analysis, making it it the oldest confirmed human RNA virus. DNA sequencing has enabled scientists to find traces of some viruses up to 50,000 years old from ancient human skeletons. But many viruses, including the rhinoviruses that cause common colds, have a genome made from RNA, which is much less stable than DNA and usually degrades within a few hours after death. Our cells also produce RNA as part of the process of reading the genetic code and translating it into proteins. In recent years, scientists have been pushing back the age at which they have been able to recover ancient RNA, with one team recently extracting RNA from a woolly mammoth that died 40,000 years ago. “Until now, most ancient RNA studies have relied on exceptionally well-preserved materials, such as permafrost samples or desiccated seeds, which …

I Listened to My Own Heart and Lungs With the ‘Thermometer of the Future’

I Listened to My Own Heart and Lungs With the ‘Thermometer of the Future’

Published by skeptic

BeamO is more than a thermometer. Cole Kan/Anna Gragert/CNET/Getty Images A thermometer is a staple in medicine cabinets, and its task is simple: measure the body’s temperature. But will its simplicity stand the test of time? Health technology company Withings has given the modest thermometer a massive overhaul with BeamO. Dubbed the “thermometer of the future,” BeamO is a stethoscope, an electrocardiogram (ECG) and, yes, a thermometer, all in one device.  I reported on BeamO’s launch and FDA clearance back in November, and since then, Withings sent me the device so I could do my own testing. Over the last several weeks of trying BeamO and the connected Withings app, it has become clear to me what the company thinks the future of health care will look like.  BeamO’s one-button design makes it surprisingly simple to use  Similar to a traditional thermometer, the handheld BeamO is incredibly simple to use, despite its multiple functions. It has a single button with four scrolling directions and an LED screen. The contactless thermometer is on top, the digital …