Smokers Beware: You're at Risk for COPD Nov 11, 2009
A patient has emphysema when the alveoli, the air sacs that expand and shrink in the lung, become damaged. Emphysema can destroy the alveoli themselves, leaving fewer of them. (Fox News)
Repairing Injured Lungs May Boost Organ Donations Oct 30, 2009
Further investigation showed that IL-10 reduced inflammation, refurbished the alveoli (tiny branching sacs where gas exchange occurs), and improved function in the injured donor lungs. Another study published in the same issue of the journal identified two types of immune cells that play a major role in the destruction of smokers' lungs. (MEDLINEplus)
Dendritic Cells Spark Smoldering Inflammation In Smokers' Lungs Oct 29, 2009
People with emphysema find it harder and harder to breathe as the lung's air sacs or alveoli are destroyed, causing holes in the lung and blocking airways. They have difficulty exchanging oxygen as their lungs become less elastic. (Science Daily)
Gene Mutation May Reveal Clues For Treating Lung Diseases Oct 16, 2009
"Part of the problem is that the lung is not developed properly, especially the alveoli, the tiny sacs at the end of the smallest airways that serve as a place for oxygen uptake and gas exchange. This finding helped us identify a gene essential for the development of alveoli and potentially provide a target for intervention in premature babies." ... When lungs are damaged with COPD, alveoli lose their elastic quality, and the walls between them are destroyed as they become thick and inflamed ...... (Science Daily)
Swine flu deaths show this flu is different: experts Sep 16, 2009
Americans who died from swine flu had infections deep in their lungs, Dr. Sherif Zaki of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a meeting of flu experts, including damage to the alveoli the structures in the lung that deliver oxygen to the blood. This in turn caused what is known as acute respiratory distress syndrome an often fatal development that leaves patients gasping for breath. (MSNBC -- Health)
Early Warning Signals Of Change Identified Sep 3, 2009
That system may be as tiny as the alveoli in human lungs or as large as global climate. "These are compelling insights into the transitions in human and natural systems," says Henry Gholz, program director in the National Science Foundation (NSF)'s Division of Environmental Biology, which supported the research along with NSF's Division of Ocean Sciences. (Science Daily)
Scientists Open Doors To Diagnosis Of Emphysema Aug 14, 2009
Emphysema is characterised by the damage and destruction of the alveoli, the tiny air-sacs of the lungs that are crucial for respiration and uptake of oxygen from the air. Cigarette smoke and other irritants activate immune cells, like macrophages, in the lungs to destroy the foreign material, and chronic exposure causes inflammation. (Science Daily)
The Respiratory (Pulmonary) System Jul 14, 2009
Upon entering the terminal bronchioles, the air reaches the alveoli sacs where the exchange of gases takes place: removal of carbon dioxide, and absorption of oxygen ... For example, emphysema, which destroys the elastic abilities of the alveoli sacs, results in chronic breathing problems and the need for supplemental oxygen. (Suite101.com)
Pitt team first to profile genes in acutely ill idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients Jul 7, 2009
For unknown reasons, some IPF patients experience rapid declines that cause diffuse damage of the lung alveoli, the tiny sacs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of disease exacerbation or, as Dr. Kaminski puts it, acceleration, the researchers compared the gene activity profile of the lungs of eight IPF patients whose disease was dramatically worsening when they died with those of 23 stable IPF patients and 15 people with healthy... (EurekAlert!)
Sleuths Follow Lung Stem Cells For Generations To Shed Light On Healing Jun 6, 2009
These purportedly are on the border between the bronchioles and alveoli, which are the small air sacs where gas exchange takes place ... Instead, the cells they labeled and followed in the bronchioles only renewed the airways and not the alveoli; they found no evidence for a special BASC population. (Science Daily)
Sanko Junyaku Launches Diagnostic Reagent Kit For Automated Clinical Chemistry Analyser To Determine KL-6, Detecting Marker of Interstitial Pneumonia Jun 2, 2009
Human lungs are made up of multiple, small grape-like structures called alveoli, where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. Inflammation of alveoli causes pneumonia, which can be roughly classified into two groups based on the region where the inflammation occurs: interstitial pneumonia, in which inflammation occurs in the walls of the alveoli (interstitium), and alveolar pneumonia (commonly-termed pneumonia), in which inflammation occurs in the airway between bronchi and... (JCN Network, Japan)
Stimulus funds support Colo. lung research May 23, 2009
IPF is an inflammatory lung disorder of unknown origin characterized by abnormal formation of fibrous tissue between the tiny air sacs (alveoli) or ducts of the lungs. According to a press release, ARRA funds will spur advances in the understanding of these complex lung diseases by supporting research at UC Denver and in 15 other states. (Denver Business Journal, CO)
Signs can be subtle for pulmonary hypertension May 5, 2009
Most folks develop pulmonary hypertension because of an underlying condition such as emphysema (destruction of the tiny alveoli lung sacs where oxygen and carbon dioxide gas exchange occurs), untreated severe sleep apnea, chronic clots, valvular problems like mitral valve narrowing, scleroderma, sarcoidosis or sickle cell disease. Rarely, folks develop pulmonary hypertension for no clear cause. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Health)
Saving time, saving lives Apr 1, 2009
The new Walker ambulance service is also utilizing the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) system, which aids in keeping the alveoli in the lungs open. Arteriosclerosis, commonly affecting smokers, causes alveoli to collapse. (WWalker County Messenger, GA)
Lingering pain Mar 27, 2009
"It attacks the alveoli and crosses the pulmonary barrier into the bloodstream, from where it affects every other organ," says Roopa Baddi, a GP who treats patients in the shanty area surrounding the now-defunct plant. She reels off a list of conditions that she sees resulting from the gas, including incidences that are far higher than the national average of lung diseases such as fibrosis and tuberculosis; cancers, especially of the bladder, cervix, lungs and oesophagus; eye disorders, such as... (BBC News -- Health)
Making Wellesley idling-free Mar 18, 2009
For those who were skeptical about the magnitude of the perils that emissions pose, Keays included detail on the inner workings of human lungs and how toxins specifically interfere with the ability of the lungs alveoli, for example, to help ensure the transfer of oxygen to the rest of the body. He reported on the American Lung Association s findings on the steadily increasing prevalence of asthma, cystic fibrosis and acute respiratory infections among children, then explained why this disturbing... (Wellesley Townsman, MA)
Fluid Buildup In Lungs Is Part Of The Damage Done By The Flu Feb 17, 2009
The alveoli are air spaces deep inside the lungs where oxygen enters the blood in exchange for carbon dioxide to be exhaled. The scientists used an unusual method to observe the fluid clearance. (Science Daily)
