sinusitis
A protein known to stimulate blood vessel growth has now been found to be responsible for the cell overgrowth in the development of polyps that characterize one of the most severe forms of sinusitis, a study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests.
Genes May Determine Susceptibility to H5N1 Avian Influenza A Virus Infection
San Diego, CA -- Patients who suffer from chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) also tend to suffer from other chronic illnesses, like asthma, hypertension, and arthritis.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA?Highlights of September's Ophthalmology, the journal of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy), include a 2009 review by the Academy of the safety and efficacy of a widely used corneal transplant procedure and a warning about an unusual but serious reaction to systemic fluroquinolones, a class of antibiotics used to treat a variety of bacterial infections.
Use of a common antibiotic may be undercutting its utility as a first-line defense against drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB). Fluoroquinolones are the most commonly prescribed class of antibiotics in the U.S. and are used to fight a number of different infections such as sinusitis and pneumonia. They are also an effective first line of defense against TB infections that show drug resistance.
Washington, DC - Endoscopic sinus surgery can significantly relieve symptoms of chronic rhinosinusitis - inflammation of the sinus cavities - according to a research team, led by a Georgetown physician, which conducted the first large-scale analysis of surgical outcomes from the procedure.
Minimally invasive surgery to alleviate the pain and pressure of sinusitis is a safe, effective therapy for geriatric patients who can't be helped by medication alone, according to new research. "This tells us that we should not neglect sinus problems in the elderly; that if medicines don't work, we have a surgical technique that is not that invasive and results in good outcomes," says Dr. Stilianos E. Kountakis, otolaryngologist, vice chair of the Medical College of Georgia Department of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery and a principal author on the study published in the December issue of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery. "There is a way to improve symptoms either with medicine or surgery if necessary, and it's worth pursuing because patients feel better overall and have better quality of life."
Not all congestion-producing, ear-popping, runny-nosed, headachy chronic rhinosinusitis infections are the same, researchers have found. Rather, this problem that afflicts some 30 million Americans annually has four severity classifications that could help guide treatment today and help find better treatments in the future, says the lead author on the study published in the November issue of The Laryngoscope. ''The way we have been reporting on chronic sinusitis is we lump it all together so we are comparing apples to oranges.''
Scientists have discovered that people with chronic sinus inflammation have an exaggerated immune response to common airborne fungi. ''This study is the first to show a possible immunologic basis for chronic sinusitis, an important starting point to better understand the etiology of the illness,'' says Marshall Plaut, M.D., chief of NIAID's allergic mechanisms section. Despite the enormous health impact of chronic sinusitis--nearly 30 million people were diagnosed with sinusitis in 2002, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and direct costs of the illness exceed $5.6 billion per year--the condition is very poorly understood, he says.
Researchers have shown that chronic sinusitis is an immune disorder caused by fungus, opening up a promising new avenue for treating this ubiquitous and debilitating condition, for which there is no FDA-approved therapy. Results of their research suggest that common airborne fungi lodge in the mucus lining of the sinuses in most people, but initiate an immune response only in individuals prone to chronic sinusitis. The immune response causes the fungi to be attacked, which leads to damage of the sinus membranes, resulting in full-blown symptoms.
