In the first clinical trial to demonstrate an effective treatment for constant, disabling cough among people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that taking thalidomide significantly reduced the cough and improved quality of life. Results of their study are scheduled to be published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Sept. 18 in an article titled "Thalidomide for the Treatment of Cough in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)

Obstructive diseases of the airway are a diverse group, although they share in common airway narrowing as a sequel to inflammation, which leads to increased work of breathing. Optimal treatment strategies for this heterogeneous group of asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema should be multidimensional and embrace pharmacological and nonpharmacological means as well as surgery in a highly select group of patients with emphysema. We review the current status of the bronchoscopic interventions that have been in development for the past decade with the objectives of providing better symptom control in asthma and palliation in individuals with emphysema who are otherwise poor candidates for lung volume reduction surgery. (Source: Therapeutic Advances in Respiratory Disease)

Abstract Severe lower respiratory infection (LRI) is believed to be one precursor of protracted bacterial bronchitis, chronic moist cough (CMC), and chronic suppurative lung disease. The aim of this study was to determine and to describe the presence of respiratory morbidity in young children 1 year after being hospitalized with a severe LRI. Children aged less than 2 years admitted from August 1, 2007 to December 23, 2007 already enrolled in a prospective epidemiology study (n = 394) were included in this second study only if they had a diagnosis of severe bronchiolitis or of pneumonia with no co‐morbidities (n = 237). Funding allowed 164 to be identified chronologically, 131 were able to be contacted, and 94 agreed to be assessed by a paediatrician 1 year post index admission. ...

Despite the development of effective treatments, tuberculosis (TB) remains a major health problem. TB continues to infect new victims and kills nearly 2 million people annually. The problem is much greater in resource-limited countries but is present worldwide. Inadequate public health resources, cost, the obligatory long treatment period, and adverse drug effects contribute to treatment failures and relapses. Drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strains arise spontaneously and are propagated by inadequate treatment. According to World Health Organization global data, 17% of MTB strains in new, previously untreated cases are resistant to at least one drug. Approximately, 3.3% of new MTB cases are resistant to both isoniazid and rifampin, also called multidrug resistant (MDR), an...