By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 20 (HealthDay News) -- An experimental drug that blocks the genetic flaw responsible for one form of cystic fibrosis has worked well in an early trial, Israeli researchers report.

"The results have been promising," said Dr. Eitan Kerem, head of pediatrics at Hadassah Hebrew University Hospital in Jerusalem, and lead author of a report published online Thursday in the journal The Lancet.

TUESDAY, Aug. 19 (HealthDay News) -- The use of silver-coated endotracheal tubes reduced the risk of pneumonia among intensive-care patients on ventilators, a U.S. study found.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia can lead to longer hospital stays, increased costs, and infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Currently, no single prevention strategy eliminates ventilator-associated pneumonia, according to background information in the study.

MONDAY, Aug. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Recently discovered so-called free radicals that are attached to small particles of air pollution could cause lung damage and perhaps even lung cancer, researchers report.

If confirmed through further research, the finding could help to explain why nonsmokers develop tobacco-related diseases like lung cancer, said lead researcher H. Barry Dellinger, the Patrick F. Taylor Chair of environmental chemistry at Louisiana State University.

FRIDAY, Aug. 15 (HealthDay News) -- A new drug therapy may help cut down on the lung function loss experienced by patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study says.

According to the second August issue of American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, a combination of salmeterol, a β-agonist, and fluticasone propiniate, an inhaled cortical steroid, proved a successful therapy in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted in 42 countries.

FRIDAY, Aug. 15 (HealthDay News) -- Boys may be more likely to have childhood asthma than girls, but they are also more likely to grow out of it, a new study says.

The report, published in the second August issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, found that boys also have fewer asthma occurrences in the post-pubertal years.

Back to school season is almost here and sadly, we're heading for summer's end and into autumnal weather in the next couple of months.

Last year I neglected to get a flu shot and paid a heavy price. I know the flu shot is no guarantee and only covers a few of the strains of flu, but it still helps.

I'm wondering when is the bext time to get a flu shot? Next month? October? November?

TUESDAY, Aug. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Preliminary research has produced promising findings regarding a possible alternative treatment for people with a common type of lung cancer.

The new combination of chemotherapy drugs could eventually become another option for people with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, which is very difficult to treat, the Japanese researchers suggest.

Even if it works, however, the treatment isn't likely to add many months to the lives of patients. And the study only represents the second in three necessary stages of research.

I JUST HEARD OF A FRIENDS MOM JUST DIAGNOSED WITH LUNG CANCER, FROM USING CERTAIN CLEANING PRODUCTS....I HAD NO IDEA. I GUESS I JUST NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT BEFORE, I KNOW WHEN I CLEAN MY BATHROOM I CANT STAND THE SMELL BUT I DIDN'T THINK OF THE EFFECT OF IT ON MY BODY. OF COURSE ON THE BOTTLES IT SAYS NOT TO INHALE BUT HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE...THE CLEANING ISLE AT THE SUPERMARKET SHOULD HAVE A BIG WARNING SIGN. DANGER TOXIC CHEMICALS..THAT CAN KILL OVER TIME!

HI!

I am wondering if pills are better for allergies or are sprays like Flonasse or Nasonex?

Has anyone tried both kinds of allergy relief and found one better than the other?