Tag Archives: lung
Lung ultrasound. A field for misconceptions… and friendships
Born from the wreckage of the Titanic, used in the marine then industry, ultrasound impacted medicine in the 50s. However, the lung has always been considered as not accessible to this simple, noninvasive, cost-cutting discipline. This assumption
Disordered highways clear mucus from the lungs
Our respiratory system is continuously exposed to potentially harmful particles such as dust, fungi, bacteria and viruses. Indeed, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, respiratory conditions were already one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The first
A new link between oxidant stress and lung cancer
DNA repair protects our cells from conditions that cause damage to the genome, which can become a threat to the maintenance and function of our tissues. Our cells have a variety of DNA repair systems. Most frequent
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVM) should be treated by embolization
Pulmonary arteriovenous malformations (PAVM) are congenital vascular communications in the lungs. They act as shunts so that the blood running through these malformations is not oxygenated or filtered (Fig. 1). These patients will typically have dyspnea on
Does intestinal inflammation impact the lung response to bacterial endotoxin?
Lung inflammation leading to airway hyperresponsiveness causes illnesses for more than ten percent of the population in USA. Recent research had indicated that patients with inflammatory bowel disease have higher incidence of airway hyperresponsiveness compared to the
In defense of Lady Windermere Syndrome
The eponym, Lady Windermere Syndrome (LWS), designates a disorder, exclusive to older women who are free of a predisposing lung disorder, caused by Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare and characterized by disease limited to the lingula and/or the middle lobe
How does chromium cause lung cancer? Resistance to cellular stress
Lung cancer is the deadliest form of cancer in both men and women. One cause of lung cancer is occupational exposure to heavy metals. Extremely useful in several industries, heavy metals have become widespread environmental pollutants over
Prognostic factors for PM/DM-ILD. A dilemma of treatment intensity?
Polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) are idiopathic inflammatory myopathies of unknown causes. In PM/DM, interstitial lung disease (ILD) is one of the extramuscular manifestations and the principal cause of death. To improve the prognosis of PM/DM-ILD, it
Clubbing in patients with fibrotic interstitial lung diseases
Many years ago Hippocrates already described clubbing. Clubbing is a deformation of the nail base resulting in a swollen and spongy convex. It is frequently seen in patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). ILDs contain a variety
Role of lymphadenectomy in non-small cell lung cancer surgical management
The prognosis and survival of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients is dependent on the stage of disease, which is based on tumor size and nodal and distant metastasis at presentation. In turn, cancer stage assessment is
Lung “life support”: Enter the era of improving the function of transplanted lungs
Lung transplantation is a relatively new science, with the first successful transplant being performed in 1983 in Toronto, Canada. Almost all transplants performed in this country involve the removal of the lungs from a deceased donor, flushing
Lung infections and the origins of rheumatoid arthritis
Five percent of individuals worldwide develop an autoimmune disease. The causes of the majority of autoimmune diseases is unknown. But it is recognised that various tissues are damaged by over-activation of our immune system in response to
How does histamine make it hard to breathe?
Histamine is a chemical substance that can be released in the lungs to cause narrowing of the bronchial tubes and difficulty breathing. Airway smooth muscle cells in the bronchioles (small airways) of the lung can contract or
A potential radiotracer for imaging the lungs
Routine patient lung scans in the nuclear medicine department have for decades, employed a radioactive technetium-99m-aggregated-albumin particle injection dose, in conjunction with a ventilation dose of Tc-99m-aerosol in tandem. The lung scans are usually requested for patients
The use of bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells ameliorates airway inflammation in horses with recurrent airway obstruction
Horses stabled indoors live in a pro-allergenic environment and are exposed to molds, mites, and bacterial endotoxins from hay and bedding. This exposure exacerbates recurrent airway obstruction (RAO), an asthma-like disease. Affected horses suffer from recurrence of
Treatment of sarcoidosis
Sarcoidosis is an uncommon, poorly understood disorder that most often affects the chest. Its cause is unknown. While the outcome is, in general, favorable, a small number develop scarring of the lungs (fibrosis), which, if extensive, will
The reality of latent tuberculosis bacillus?
Tuberculosis is caused by the infectious agent known Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) (Fig. 1). This rod-shaped bacterium, also called Koch’s bacillus, was discovered by Dr. Robert Koch in 1882. When a person breathes in Mtb-contaminated air, the inhaled TB bacteria
A mild form of dermatomyositis as a prodromal sign of lung cancer: looking behind the skin
Dermatomyositis is a rare inflammatory disease characterized by specific skin findings and inflammatory lesions in the muscle biopsy. The most common clinical signs of dermatomyositis include an erythema over the face, neck and upper trunk known as
Improving the care of lung cancer patients who need major surgery
We report the impact of several factors on procedure times for major lung surgery for cancer, focusing on staff turnover within the surgical team. We propose a new definition of surgical team turnover which allows us to
