Pneumonia

A group of US and Canadian anesthesiologists has sounded the alarm on the new class of weight-loss drugs, this time warning that they can increase the risk of serious complications for patients under sedation on the operating table.

A novel antibiotic combo has proven promising in a clinical trial for treating an often-deadly form of pneumonia. The experimental drug was found to be at least as effective in preventing death as the current standard, but with far milder side effects.

Scientists have recently had success in curing mice of a serious type of pneumonia, using what are described as "microrobots." The bots were actually live algae cells, which carried life-saving medication throughout the rodents' lungs.

Pneumonia is usually treated with antibiotics, but bacteria are developing resistance to them. Now, NIH researchers have found a way to boost immune cells to eat the bacteria more effectively, potentially leading to a new pneumonia treatment.

Klebsiella pneumoniae is a nasty bacteria that can cause pneumonia. It’s a tough one to fight, but now researchers have developed an inhalable vaccine that, in mouse tests, can invoke a strong immune response against several strains of the bacteria.

New data has found the cheap steroid dexamethasone significantly reduces deaths when administered to COVID-19 patients in intensive care. The treatment has been described as “the first major breakthrough in the therapeutics of COVID-19 infection”.

GPN Vaccines has developed a vaccine that is claimed to be effective against all forms of Streptococcus pneumoniae, the main cause of pneumonia, and the Australian company has now secured funding to conduct preclinical trials.

As a lung infection, the most direct route to treat pneumonia would be inhalable drugs. Now researchers at Georgia Tech have made a step towards that goal, with breathable viruses that hunt down and kill disease-causing bacteria in the lungs.

Scientists have long debated what could be causing obesity paradox - odd counter-intuitive studies showing obesity in some instances offering beneficial health protections. Several new studies have just added further weight to the paradox.

​A new study investigating the effects of vapor from e-cigarettes is suggesting that long-term “vaping” could make people more susceptible to bacterial lung infections including pneumonia.

​A new vaccine targeting dozens of new strains of pneumonia could save “hundreds of thousands of lives” according to researchers. Early studies show the new vaccine effectively protects against a variety of bacteria that causes pneumococcal disease including pneumonia, meningitis and sepsis.

StethoCloud low-cost stethoscope attachment for smartphones designed to diagnose conditions such as childhood pneumonia.