A new discovery could lead to treatments which turn off the inflammation in the lungs caused by influenza and other infections, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Immunology.

Dianne Odell, from Jackson, TN, who was in an iron lung for six decades was 61 years old and, has died after a power failure in the city, about 80 miles northeast of Memphis.

Children with sickle cell disease (SCD) have a significantly sharper decline in lung function with age when compared to other children of the same race and age. Furthermore, that loss of function appears to be linked to a restrictive rather than obstructive pattern, contrary to previous research that has focused on obstructive or asthma-like patterns in loss of lung function with sickle cell disease.

NASA gathers a tremendous amount of data on the environment that can be helpful in understanding lung disease. In a session at the ATS 2008 International Conference called “Observations From Space:

An unusually high incidence of lung disease has been diagnosed in workers at popcorn factories. Researchers are focusing on diacetyl, the ingredient which is largely responsible for the odor and flavor of the butter in popcorn, according to an article published by SAGE in the current issue of Toxicologic Pathology.

A less traumatic way of delivering surfactant, a lung lubricant that premature babies need to help them breathe, could reduce the incidence of respiratory problems they’ll have later, Medical College of Georgia physicians say.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield have developed innovative technology which illuminates a person´s lungs and helps clinicians identify if they are functioning correctly. The new technology could result in earlier diagnosis of emphysema and smoking related damage, as well as other lung conditions and diseases.

Cells lining the mouth reflect the molecular damage that smoking does to the lining of the lungs, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report today at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc), also known as scleroderma, is characterized by the formation of fibrosis, or scar tissue, on internal organs as well as the skin. Beyond its disfiguring symptoms, SSc is associated with a high rate of deadly lung disease. Pulmonary fibrosis strikes at least one-third of SSc sufferers, and kills 30 percent within 10 years.

Annual flu vaccinations are highly effective at preventing acute respiratory illness and making sure that existing breathing problems don’t get any worse, according to research published in the April issue of IJCP, the UK-based International Journal of Clinical Practice.

Dry airways may not only play a central role in the development of the in-herited lung disease cystic fibrosis, but also in much more common ac-quired chronic lung diseases such as asthma and smoker’s lung, the ciga-rette smoke-induced chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Workers exposed to low levels of an asbestos-like mineral from Montana more than two decades ago are at an increased risk for lung disease today, according to research from the University of Cincinnati (UC).