Why Ventilators can be Tough on Preemie Lungs

Many premature infants need mechanical ventilation to breathe. However, prolonged ventilation can lead to problems like respiratory diseases or ventilation-induced injury.Jonas Naumann and Mareike Zink study the physics of mechanical stress from ventilation at Leipzig University, in Leipzig, Germany and discovered some of the mechanisms that explain why premature lungs are especially sensitive to stress.

Infectious Disease Expert Available: Flu Season, COVID-19 Variant and other Respiratory Viruses

In the United States, flu season usually occurs in the fall and winter, and while influenza viruses spread year-round, most of the time flu activity peaks between December and February. The overall impact of the flu varies from season to…

Key Mechanisms of Airway Relaxation in Asthma Revealed in New Study

Many therapeutics for asthma and other obstructive lung diseases target the β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR), a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that rapidly supports airway relaxation when stimulated. Yet, overuse of these agents is associated with adverse health outcomes, including death, which has limited their utility as frontline therapies. Now, a mouse model study published in today’s issue of Molecular Cell, from investigators at University Hospitals (UH) and Case Western Reserve University, identifies a novel strategy to isolate the beneficial effects of β2AR stimulation. This suggests a new therapeutic approach to airway diseases as well as numerous other conditions involving the aberrant function of GPCRs.