(Press-News.org) Scientists from The University of Manchester have discovered why medication to treat asthma and pneumonia can become ineffective.
The findings, published in Nature Medicine, show that drugs widely used to treat lung diseases work with the body clock.
In the UK pneumonia, which is caused by an infection, affects around 1 in 1000 adults each year and is more serious for babies, young children, the elderly, smokers and those with an underlying health condition.
More than 5 million people in the UK are affected by asthma and the NHS spends around £1 billion a year treating and caring for people with the disease.
The research, led by Professors David Ray and Andrew Loudon from The University of Manchester, found out that cells lining the lung airways have their own body clock which is the time-keeper for lung inflammation - both conditions cause swelling (inflammation) in the lungs.
And the team discovered that more severe lung inflammation happens as a result of the loss of the body clock working in these cells.
Professor Loudon said: "We found a key molecule known as CXCL5 that facilitates lung inflammation which is a key regulator of how immune cells get into tissues. The loss of CXCL5 completely prevents the time of day regulation of lung inflammation which opens up new ways to treat lung diseases."
During the research, the team uncovered how glucocorticoid hormones from the adrenal gland are vital in controlling the level of inflammation in the cells lining the airway.
Professor Ray said: "This hormone works through the glucocorticoid receptor, a major regulator of gene expression. We wanted to find out therefore if glucocorticoid medicines, like prednisolone or dexamethasone would also show a time of day effect, and our research shows they do."
The team concluded that the rhythm of the clock in the lining of the cells in the lungs is important for lung diseases like asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Professor Loudon said: "In this work we define a major circadian control on lung inflammation which affects responses to bacterial infection, or pneumonia. We know that many lung diseases indeed show a strong time of day effect, including asthma, and deaths from pneumonia."
Our bodies anticipate the change from day to night by having an internal, or circadian clock. This explains why it is hard to adjust to shift work. The body clock regulates sleep, but now has been discovered to also regulate our immune system.
"We live in a world that is divided into day and night. As a result our behaviour varies by time of day; we sleep at night, and are active, and eat during the day. Increasingly our lives are disconnected from this ancient rhythm, with artificial light, shift work, and jet lag," concluded Professor Ray.
INFORMATION: END
Drugs used to treat lung disease work with the body clock
Scientists from The University of Manchester have discovered why medication to treat asthma and pneumonia can become ineffective
2014-07-27
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
New drug target can break down cancer's barrier against treatment
2014-07-27
CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists at Barts Cancer Institute have found that targeting a molecule in blood vessels can make cancer therapy significantly more effective, according to research published in Nature today (Sunday).
The team at Barts Cancer Institute, part of Queen Mary University of London, have found that a molecule, called focal adhesion kinase (FAK), signals the body to repair itself after chemotherapy or radiotherapy, which kill cancer cells by damaging DNA. When the researchers removed FAK from blood vessels that grew in melanoma or lung cancer models, both ...
Stanford team achieves 'holy grail' of battery design: A stable lithium anode
2014-07-27
Engineers across the globe have been racing to design smaller, cheaper and more efficient rechargeable batteries to meet the power storage needs of everything from handheld gadgets to electric cars.
In a paper published today in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, researchers at Stanford University report that they have taken a big step toward accomplishing what battery designers have been trying to do for decades – design a pure lithium anode.
All batteries have three basic components: an electrolyte to provide electrons, an anode to discharge those electrons, and ...
New tools help neuroscientists analyze 'big data'
2014-07-27
In an age of "big data," a single computer cannot always find the solution a user wants. Computational tasks must instead be distributed across a cluster of computers that analyze a massive data set together. It's how Facebook and Google mine your web history to present you with targeted ads, and how Amazon and Netflix recommend your next favorite book or movie. But big data is about more than just marketing.
New technologies for monitoring brain activity are generating unprecedented quantities of information. That data may hold new insights into how the brain works ...
NIH scientists find 6 new genetic risk factors for Parkinson's
2014-07-27
Using data from over 18,000 patients, scientists have identified more than two dozen genetic risk factors involved in Parkinson's disease, including six that had not been previously reported. The study, published in Nature Genetics, was partially funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and led by scientists working in NIH laboratories.
"Unraveling the genetic underpinnings of Parkinson's is vital to understanding the multiple mechanisms involved in this complex disease, and hopefully, may one day lead to effective therapies," said Andrew Singleton, Ph.D., a ...
Surgical safety program greatly reduces surgical site infections for heart operations
2014-07-27
New York City (Sunday July 27 – 11:45 am ET): A common postoperative complication after open heart operations—infection at the surgical site—has been reduced by 77 percent at a Canadian hospital through its participation in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP®), according to a new case study presented at the 2014 ACS NSQIP National Conference.
Vancouver General Hospital in Vancouver, British Columbia, reportedly reduced its rate of cardiac surgical site infections (SSIs) using a "best practices bundle," or combination ...
Study shows epigenetic changes can drive cancer
2014-07-26
Houston -- Cancer has long been thought to be primarily a genetic disease, but in recent decades scientists have come to believe that epigenetic changes – which don't change the DNA sequence but how it is 'read' – also play a role in cancer. In particular DNA methylation, the addition of a methyl group (or molecule), is an epigenetic switch that can stably turn off genes, suggesting the potential to cause cancer just as a genetic mutation can. Until now, however, direct evidence that DNA methylation drives cancer formation was lacking.
Researchers at the USDA/ARS Children's ...
Researchers uncover the secret lymphatic identity of the Schlemm's canal
2014-07-26
Glaucoma is one of the leading causes of blindness worldwide. A major risk factor for glaucoma is elevated eye pressure due to poor drainage of aqueous humor, the fluid that provides nutrients to the eye. A specialized structure, called Schlemm's canal funnels aqueous humor from the eye back into circulation. Schlemm's canal function is critical to prevent pressure build up in the eye. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, two research groups reveal that Schlemm's canal shares features of lymphatic vessels, which maintain interstitial fluid homeostasis. ...
First national study finds trees saving lives, reducing respiratory problems
2014-07-25
SYRACUSE, N.Y., July 25, 2014– In the first broad-scale estimate of air pollution removal by trees nationwide, U.S. Forest Service scientists and collaborators calculated that trees are saving more than 850 human lives a year and preventing 670,000 incidences of acute respiratory symptoms.
While trees' pollution removal equated to an average air quality improvement of less than 1 percent, the impacts of that improvement are substantial. Researchers valued the human health effects of the reduced air pollution at nearly $7 billion every year in a study published recently ...
Fire ecology manipulation by California native cultures
2014-07-25
Before the colonial era, 100,000s of people lived on the land now called California, and many of their cultures manipulated fire to control the availability of plants they used for food, fuel, tools, and ritual. Contemporary tribes continue to use fire to maintain desired habitat and natural resources.
Frank Lake, an ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Station, will lead a field trip to the Stone Lake National Wildfire Refuge during the Ecological Society of America's 99th Annual Meeting, in Sacramento, Cal. this August. Visitors will learn about ...
Smoke from Canadian fires hover over Great Lakes
2014-07-25
Canadian wildfires have been raging this summer and some of the smoke from those fires is drifting downward into the U.S. In this image collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite on July 24, 2014 a swath of smoke has descended over the Great Lakes region of the United States. What is particularly interesting is the fire image from July 23, 2014 (first image feature highlighted below) clearly shows the path of the smoke as it drifts off southeastward. In the image, it is over Manitoba and parts of Ontario, and by ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Lower dose of mpox vaccine is safe and generates six-week antibody response equivalent to standard regimen
Personalised “cocktails” of antibiotics, probiotics and prebiotics hold great promise in treating a common form of irritable bowel syndrome, pilot study finds
Experts developing immune-enhancing therapies to target tuberculosis
Making transfusion-transmitted malaria in Europe a thing of the past
Experts developing way to harness Nobel Prize winning CRISPR technology to deal with antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
CRISPR is promising to tackle antimicrobial resistance, but remember bacteria can fight back
Ancient Maya blessed their ballcourts
Curran named Fellow of SAE, ASME
Computer scientists unveil novel attacks on cybersecurity
Florida International University graduate student selected for inaugural IDEA2 public policy fellowship
Gene linked to epilepsy, autism decoded in new study
OHSU study finds big jump in addiction treatment at community health clinics
Location, location, location
Getting dynamic information from static snapshots
Food insecurity is significant among inhabitants of the region affected by the Belo Monte dam in Brazil
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons launches new valve surgery risk calculators
Component of keto diet plus immunotherapy may reduce prostate cancer
New circuit boards can be repeatedly recycled
Blood test finds knee osteoarthritis up to eight years before it appears on x-rays
April research news from the Ecological Society of America
Antimicrobial resistance crisis: “Antibiotics are not magic bullets”
Florida dolphin found with highly pathogenic avian flu: Report
Barcodes expand range of high-resolution sensor
DOE Under Secretary for Science and Innovation visits Jefferson Lab
Research expo highlights student and faculty creativity
Imaging technique shows new details of peptide structures
MD Anderson and RUSH unveil RUSH MD Anderson Cancer Center
Tomography-based digital twins of Nd-Fe-b magnets
People with rare longevity mutation may also be protected from cardiovascular disease
Mobile device location data is already used by private companies, so why not for studying human-wildlife interactions, scientists ask
[Press-News.org] Drugs used to treat lung disease work with the body clockScientists from The University of Manchester have discovered why medication to treat asthma and pneumonia can become ineffective