The world’s largest study into allergies has shown that the genetic risk factors for atopic dermatitis (eczema), hay fever, and asthma are generally inherited together. The findings of this study by a consortium of researchers, including research groups from the MDC and Charité, have now been published in Nature Genetics. Up to now, genetic studies [...]

Researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) have identified a promising solution to improving treatments offered to patients with cystic fibrosis. This advancement, published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, could lead to the development of new personalised therapies in the near future. ‘Adding molecules called quorum-sensing inhibitors to current drugs [...]

According to the authors of a new study, new substances may potentially constitute a breakthrough in the treatment of COPD. The study was a co-operative effort between the team headed by Assistant Professor, Dr Jürgen Knobloch, from the Medical Clinic III for Pneumology, Sleep and Respiratory Medicine at the Bergmannsheil University Hospital in Bochum, Germany, [...]

Those who treat patients suffering with severe asthma know how frustrating it can be to try to get the disease under control – despite the introduction in recent years of both biologics and bronchial thermoplasty. These treatments have proven effective, but require an understanding of all that is involved before being prescribed or recommended. An [...]

Scientists have made a fundamental discovery about how our body’s immune system clears harmful infections. Researchers have identified a previously unknown mechanism by which the responses of key cells of the immune system are regulated. The finding could inform research into improved treatments for allergies or chronic inflammatory diseases, such as lung and liver fibrosis, [...]

Several cutting-edge treatments have become available in recent years to correct the debilitating chronic lung congestion associated with cystic fibrosis (CF). While the new drugs are life-changing for some patients, they do not work for everyone. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, a team led by UNC researchers presented a [...]

Details of lung cell molecular pathways that promote or inhibit tissue regeneration were reported by researchers from the Perelmen School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Cell. Their aim is to find new ways to treat lung disorders. ‘We need better targets,’ said senior author, Edward E Morrisey, PhD, a Professor of Cell [...]

Star-shaped cells called astrocytes are much more than simple support cells in the brain. In a new study on mice, researchers at Karolinska Institutet demonstrate that they also play a key part in the respiratory centre of the brainstem and release inflammatory molecules that regulate breathing. The results, which are presented in the scientific journal, [...]

Genetic changes that help lung cancer thrive also make it vulnerable to a promising experimental drug, according to a study led by researchers from Perlmutter Cancer Centre at NYU Langone Health, and published online in Nature Medicine. Specifically, the study found that mutations in the DNA code for the gene KEAP1 help lung adenocarcinoma cells [...]