Respiratory News The FDA announced recently that it has taken enforcement action against five electronic cigarette companies for violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, including unsubstantiated claims and poor manufacturing practices. An international study looking at DNA from over 26,000 people has identified several genetic variants that substantially increase susceptibility…
Just One Good Day What would I give for one good day, a sail across a sky blue bay? A rainbow stretching cross’ the sky, a lone tear from a newborn’s eye. A drop of early morning dew, a cricket’s chirp in evening too. A Christmas tree with all the lights, a thousand…
Traveling News Helpful Travel Tips for This Holiday Season! When traveling by air, rather than dragging your luggage to the airport and paying for checking the bags, why not consider shipping the bags ahead? It will cost about the same but it will save you energy and time at the airport. If the suitcase weighs…
Sharing the Health What Is in Some Supplements? Santa’s little helper on our front cover, Stephen Rule, of The Villages, FL, reports that the September 2010 issue of Consumer Reports magazine contains a discus- sion of various supplements. The following three fall under the category of “Supplements You Should Avoid.” Supplement name: Coltsfoot…
Support Your Pulmonary Rehab! Pulmonary rehabilitation programs are closing around the country. Bill HR 6376 has been introduced in Congress that will, if passed, overturn a ruling by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) that is hurt- ing these outpatient programs. The ruling has been effective since January 1, 2010. CMS has…
Fibrosis File Pirfenidone Now Available in India Pharmaceutical company, Cipla, has introduced pirfenidone in India under the brand name Pirfenex, for the treatment of IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis). Until now there was no approved treatment for IPF. Pirfenidone has been shown to slow down progression of the disease and stabilize lung function. Earlier…
Ask Mark … Judy from Arizona asks Mark how do you avoid getting pulmonary hypertension. Mark replies, Pulmonary hyper- tension (PH) is abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries of the lungs. The right side of your heart is forced to work harder to push the blood through abnormally constricted vessels in your…
Calling Dr. Bauer Dear Dr. Bauer, I was recently diagnosed with sarcoidosis – can you tell me a little bit about it? Emily Barnes, Schenectady, NY I would bet that most of our readers have never heard of a lung disease called Sarcoidosis. Although not common, lung specialists see many patients with…
We need more research dollars! Nearly One Quarter Million Americans Are Diagnosed Annually On the front page of the Orlando Sentinel recently, Eric Gray recounted how he had been the head of the local American Lung Association chapter for four days when a woman demanded to know, “What the hell are you doing about…