PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Scientists at LSTM look at links between HAP and lung infections

Researchers move closer to understanding the link between household air pollution and susceptibility to lung infections

2015-05-08
(Press-News.org) Scientists at LSTM have come a step closer to understanding why people exposed to household air pollution (HAP) are at higher risk of lung infections such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.

Three billion people worldwide are exposed to HAP from the fuels they burn to cook, light and heat with at home. Frequently, charcoal, wood and food waste are burned and generate high concentrations of smoke particles. This exposure is associated with increased risk of pneumonia, particularly in low and middle income countries where bacterial pneumonia is the biggest cause of infant mortality. This risk is well known, but the reasons are not: results published in the American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology may explain why.

The research team, in Malawi, studied healthy volunteers who had frequent exposure to HAP. Using a telescope test, the team took samples of the immune cells from the lung airways. These "alveolar macrophages" are a major defence against infection and clean up the lung airways by ingesting inhaled particles and bacteria. Macrophage cells produce toxins which kill the bacteria they've taken up in a process called oxidative burst.

The study measured the smoke particle content of the macrophage cells. More smoke exposure was associated with a weaker killing response. The authors conclude that even in healthy people, HAP can cause weaknesses in the immune function of the lung, which can lead to higher rates of pneumonia.

Dr Jamie Rylance is a respiratory specialist at Aintree University Hospital. Previously a clinical research fellow at LSTM, he returns in August as Senior Clinical Lecturer. He was a joint first author on the paper and finds the results exciting: "Household air pollution is the 3rd most important risk factor for ill-health worldwide. You don't have to have lung disease to suffer the ill effects of these smoke particles. Our cell based research has shown that HAP exposure goes hand in hand with a reduced immune capacity to deal with lung infection. Vulnerable groups such as women and children in low income countries are most likely to be affected."

During the study the team also worked with healthy non-smokers in Liverpool. The researchers are now able to recreate the conditions in the lungs by using macrophages obtained from blood samples, and exposing them to smoke particles in the laboratory.

INFORMATION:

For further information, please contact:

Mrs Clare Bebb
Senior Media Officer
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Office: +44 (0)151 705 3135
Mobile: +44 (0)7889535222
Email: clare.bebb@lstmed.ac.uk

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) has been engaged in the fight against infectious, debilitating and disabling diseases since 1898 and continues that tradition today with a research portfolio in excess of well over £200 million and a teaching programme attracting students from over 65 countries.

For further information, please visit: http://www.lstmed.ac.uk



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Carnegie Mellon researchers find more sex doesn't lead to increased happiness

2015-05-08
PITTSBURGH-- Countless research and self-help books claim that having more sex will lead to increased happiness, based on the common finding that those having more sex are also happier. However, there are many reasons why one might observe this positive relationship between sex and happiness. Being happy in the first place, for example, might lead someone to have more sex (what researchers call 'reverse causality'), or being healthy might result in being both happier and having more sex. In the first study to examine the causal connection between sexual frequency and ...

River sediments, a dynamic reserve of pollutants

2015-05-08
This news release is available in Spanish. Metals are pollutants that have to be monitored in order to obtain a global overview of the quality of water systems, due to the fact that they remain in the environment. Although sediments act as a drain for pollutants, they can also act as a source of pollutants under certain environmental conditions (like changes in the composition of the water or movement of the sediments owing to a flood event). The UPV/EHU's Hydrology-Environment Group has conducted research on the River Deba and its tributaries to assess the influence ...

Populated Puget Sound sees stark shifts in marine fish species

Populated Puget Sound sees stark shifts in marine fish species
2015-05-08
The most populated areas of Puget Sound have experienced striking shifts in marine species, with declines in herring and smelt that have long provided food for other marine life and big increases in the catch of jellyfish, which contribute far less to the food chain, according to new research that tracks species over the last 40 years. The parallel trends of rising human population and declining forage fish such as herring and smelt indicate that human influences such as pollution and development may be eroding species that long dominated Puget Sound. In particular, the ...

It doesn't take a brain injury to have headache, dizziness and cognitive impairment

2015-05-08
Hamilton, ON (May 7, 2015) - A team of researchers based at McMaster University has developed a new understanding of post-concussion syndrome, answering questions that have been plaguing researchers in the field. Their study, published in the medical journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, provides an explanation for why many people with even very trivial head injuries, or even injuries to other parts of their bodies, experience incapacitating post-concussion like syndromes. These symptoms include headaches, dizziness, cognitive impairment and other neuropsychiatric symptoms ...

Gene required for plant growth at warmer temperatures discovered

2015-05-08
Researchers have discovered a new gene that enables plants to regulate their growth in different temperatures. Published in PLoS Genetics today, the finding could lead to new ways of optimising plant growth when it comes to climate change. Associate Professor Sureshkumar Balasubramanian, from Monash University, along with colleagues in Spain, made the discovery after analysing natural populations of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, commonly known as thale cress. "Plants are highly sensitive to environmental changes and even small changes in temperature impact ...

Danish discovery accelerates targeted cancer treatment

2015-05-08
Danish researchers at the University of Copenhagen have discovered how to map more than one protein at a time, when proteins repair damaged DNA. It is a discovery that will help accelerate the process of developing better and gentler cancer treatments. The discovery has just been described in an article in the renowned scientific journal, Science. When DNA is damaged, several different proteins start pouring in to repair the damage; their types depend on the damage done. Up until now, it has been common practice to study one protein at a time, but by way of so-called ...

Enhanced dating site photos have mixed results for men and women

2015-05-08
Washington, DC (May 5, 2015) -- Dating apps like Tinder offer a quick look at a potential connection, with a simple swipe to either decline or accept the potential match. The stakes are high for putting the right picture in your profile. But does putting an enhanced picture of yourself increase the chance you'll make that match? Being cat-fished is a real risk and users have to take into consideration whether the picture of the person is "too hot to trust." A new study by researchers at the University of Connecticut found that enhanced photos of women viewed by men increased ...

Moving to a depressed neighborhood linked to weight gain

2015-05-08
Ann Arbor, MI, May 8, 2015 - Certain regions in the United States are characterized by a higher prevalence of obesity, which suggests that a person's socioeconomic, physical, and social environments can affect opportunities for healthy behaviors that might prevent excess weight gain. But what happens when people move from one neighborhood to another? A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that people who moved to more socioeconomically deprived neighborhoods gained additional weight. Researchers used data from the Dallas Heart Survey ...

Food industry achieved only baby steps to improve nutritional quality of foods advertised to kids

2015-05-08
Ann Arbor, MI, May 8, 2015 - Children are exposed to a considerable amount of televised food advertising: more than six ads accounting for about 2:21 minutes per hour during typical programming. Concerns about the role of televised food advertising as a contributor to childhood obesity led to the food industry adopting of a program of self-regulation. A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine evaluated the effectiveness of industry self-regulation and found that this program has achieved little improvement in the nutritional quality of foods advertised ...

Changes in placenta's protective ability during pregnancy linked to transporter proteins

2015-05-08
Philadelphia, PA, May 8, 2015 - An important function of the human placenta is to protect the fetus from detrimental substances in maternal blood, such as glucocorticoids or toxins. Placental membrane-bound transporter proteins, known as multidrug resistance proteins, protect the fetus by returning unwanted materials to the maternal circulation. A study in The American Journal of Pathology reports that bacterial and viral infections differentially influence these transporter proteins in early and late pregnancy, suggesting potential mechanisms underlying infection-related ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Public confidence in U.S. health agencies slides, fueled by declines among Democrats

“Quantum squeezing” a nanoscale particle for the first time

El Niño spurs extreme daily rain events despite drier monsoons in India

Two studies explore the genomic diversity of deadly mosquito vectors

Zebra finches categorize their vocal calls by meaning

Analysis challenges conventional wisdom about partisan support for US science funding

New model can accurately predict a forest’s future

‘Like talking on the telephone’: Quantum computing engineers get atoms chatting long distance

Genomic evolution of major malaria-transmitting mosquito species uncovered

Overcoming the barriers of hydrogen storage with a low-temperature hydrogen battery

Tuberculosis vulnerability of people with HIV: a viral protein implicated

Partnership with Kenya's Turkana community helps scientists discover genes involved in adaptation to desert living

Decoding the selfish gene, from evolutionary cheaters to disease control

Major review highlights latest evidence on real-time test for blood – clotting in childbirth emergencies

Inspired by bacteria’s defense strategies

Research spotlight: Combination therapy shows promise for overcoming treatment resistance in glioblastoma

University of Houston co-leads $25 million NIH-funded grant to study the delay of nearsightedness in children

NRG Oncology PREDICT-RT study completes patient accrual, tests individualized concurrent therapy and radiation for high-risk prostate cancer

Taking aim at nearsightedness in kids before it’s diagnosed

With no prior training, dogs can infer how similar types of toys work, even when they don’t look alike

Three deadliest risk factors of a common liver disease identified in new study

Dogs can extend word meanings to new objects based on function, not appearance

Palaeontology: South American amber deposit ‘abuzz’ with ancient insects

Oral microbes linked to increased risk of pancreatic cancer

Soccer heading does most damage to brain area critical for cognition

US faces rising death toll from wildfire smoke, study finds

Scenario projections of COVID-19 burden in the US, 2024-2025

Disparities by race and ethnicity in percutaneous coronary intervention

Glioblastoma cells “unstick” from their neighbors to become more deadly

Oral bacterial and fungal microbiome and subsequent risk for pancreatic cancer

[Press-News.org] Scientists at LSTM look at links between HAP and lung infections
Researchers move closer to understanding the link between household air pollution and susceptibility to lung infections