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Adverse prenatal conditions can induce intrauterine growth restriction and increase the risk of adulthood metabolic disease. Mechanisms underlying developmentally programmed metabolic disease remain unclear but may involve disrupted postnatal circadian rhythms and kisspeptin signalling.
Electronic cigarettes ("e-cigarettes") are often marketed as smoking cessation tools and are used by smokers to reduce/quit cigarette smoking. The objective of this study was to assess the health effects of switching to e-cigarettes after long-term smoking in a mouse model and compare these effects with continued smoking, or quitting entirely.
Citation: Wang KCW, Lawrence K, Wisnivesky JP, Diaz AA. Enhancing a diverse population: the American Thoracic Society Mentoring Program for
Heated-tobacco-products (HTPs) are electronic devices that "heat" a processed tobacco/chemical mixture to produce an inhalable emission. They are advertised as a reduced-risk alternative to cigarette smoking. The aim of our research was to assess their potential health impacts using a 3D human airway model.
Citation: Wang KCW, Elliot JG, Saglani S, et al. The airway smooth muscle layer is structurally abnormal in low birth weight infants: implications
Airway-associated adipose tissue increases with body mass index and is a local source of pro-inflammatory adipokines that may contribute to airway pathology in asthma co-existing with obesity. Genetic susceptibility to airway adiposity was considered in the present study through kisspeptin/kisspeptin receptor signalling, known to modulate systemic adiposity and potentially drive airway remodelling.
The incidence and severity of heatwaves are increasing globally with concomitant health complications. Pregnancy is a critical time in the life course at risk of adverse health outcomes due to heat exposure. Dynamic physiological adaptations, which include altered thermoregulatory pathways, occur in pregnancy.
Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a major otitis media (OM) pathogen, with colonization a prerequisite for disease development. Most acute OM is in children <5 years old, with recurrent and chronic OM impacting hearing and learning. Therapies to prevent NTHi colonization and/or disease are needed, especially for young children. Respiratory viruses are implicated in driving the development of bacterial OM in children.
Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) lack regulatory status as therapeutic products in all jurisdictions worldwide. They are potentially unsafe consumer products, with significant evidence they pose a risk to human health. Therefore, developing rapid, economical test methods to assess the chemical composition of e-liquids in heated and unheated forms and the aerosols produced by e-cigarettes is crucial.
In obstructive airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the extracellular matrix (ECM) protein amount and composition of the airway smooth muscle (ASM) is often remodelled, likely altering tissue stiffness. The underlying mechanism of how human ASM cell (hASMC) mechanosenses the aberrant microenvironment is not well understood.