2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA Guideline for the Management of Heart Failure: A Report of the American College of Cardiology ...
How Altitude Sickness Affects Your Lungs
It is climbing season, and many climbers must think about altitude sickness before taking on the next great challenge. Known also as acute mountain sickness, hypobaropathy, Acosta disease, puna, or soroche, altitude illness happens when your body struggles to adjust to lower oxygen levels which happen as you climb higher into the atmosphere. For most, the condition only occurs at 8,000 feet (2,500 meters) or higher, but it really varies from person to person.
Though the condition can become severe quickly, if caught before it becomes life-threatening, it can be treated. However, you will need to recognize the symptoms to avoid complications. "The best and safest way to enjoy the climb or visit to higher altitudes is to be prepared which includes knowledge about the signs and symptoms of altitude sickness and understanding what your health care provider told you to do before the climb and during if symptoms develop," explained Dr. Albert Rizzo, American Lung Association's Chief Medical Officer.
Here's what you should know about altitude sickness to keep you and your loved ones safe.
Who is most at risk?Altitude sickness occurs because the higher you climb, the thinner the atmosphere gets. This makes breathing in the same amount of air much harder, so you get less oxygen than you would at lower altitudes. If your body is unable to take the time and adjust to the difference in oxygen, altitude sickness occurs.
A person who is not accustomed to high altitudes is more likely to experience symptoms. You are also more likely to develop symptoms if you ascend quickly or stay at a high altitude for a long time. In fact, almost everyone who ascends to 11,000 feet or higher will develop altitude sickness.
The age, weight, blood pressure and respiratory capacity of an individual may also make you more susceptible to developing symptoms. Smoking, alcohol usage and the use of sedatives can also greatly increase the chances of getting altitude sickness. Having a medical diagnosis that affects your breathing can put you at greater risk as well.
What are the symptoms of altitude sickness?Altitude sickness can cause a variety of symptoms which vary depending upon the severity. The symptoms of acute mountain sickness usually appear within the first day or so of reaching a high altitude. They usually include:
Lung Disease News
Sep. 27, 2023 — Experts in cloning and stem cell science are reporting that five lung stem cell variants dominate the lungs of patients with advanced cystic fibrosis, and that these variants drive key aspects of CF ...
Sep. 21, 2023 — Scientists have shown that their steerable lung robot can autonomously maneuver the intricacies of the lung, while avoiding important lung ...
Sep. 21, 2023 — Small cell lung cancer accounts for about 15 percent of all diagnosed lung cancers and is still associated with a high mortality rate. SCLC tumours often develop resistance to chemotherapy and thus ...
Sep. 13, 2023 — During a bout of influenza, B cells interact with other immune cells and then take different paths to defend the body. One path is the B cells that differentiate into lung-resident memory B cells, or ...
Sep. 12, 2023 — Pneumonia is an infection of the lung alveoli caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi. It is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, representing a clinical and economic burden ...
Sep. 12, 2023 — An international team of researchers has demonstrated that a combination of inhibitors may suppress tumor growth and prevent relapse in patients with certain cancers, including head and neck squamous ...
Sep. 7, 2023 — Women exposed to air pollution give birth to smaller babies, according to new research. The research also shows that women living in greener areas give birth to bigger babies and this may help ...
Sep. 7, 2023 — Researchers reveal for the first time that high blood sugar levels in type 2 diabetes can play a causal role in lung ...
Sep. 5, 2023 — A new study has shown that a subtype of avian flu virus, endemic in poultry farms in China, is undergoing mutational changes, which could increase the risk of the disease being passed on to ...
Aug. 30, 2023 — Fresh discoveries about a type of immune cells could give lung cancer patients a more accurate prognosis and better identify who will benefit from immunotherapies. Researchers found that the location ...
Aug. 25, 2023 — High levels of some minerals and metals in environmental water supplies may increase the risk of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) pulmonary infections in people with cystic fibrosis, according to a ...
Aug. 24, 2023 — Researchers have discovered a novel approach for engrafting engineered cells into injured lung tissue. These findings may lead to new ways for treating lung diseases, such as emphysema, pulmonary ...
Aug. 16, 2023 — Researchers have found that molecules in vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower help to maintain a healthy barrier in the lung and ease ...
Aug. 11, 2023 — Yoga and breathing control practices, in combination with aerobic training, are particularly key exercises for asthmatic people seeking to improve their lung function, a new peer-reviewed study ...
Aug. 9, 2023 — New findings may lead to relapse-free treatment for a sizeable subgroup of lung cancer patients. In a study in mice, scientists have identified a biomarker that may help physicians select lung cancer ...
Aug. 8, 2023 — Overly active immune cells are often behind lung damage in diseases such as Covid-19. Researchers have developed an RNA agent for a lung spray that slows the activity of these cells, known as ...
July 25, 2023 — Having a food allergy as a baby is linked to asthma and reduced lung function later in childhood, according to a new ...
July 20, 2023 — Omega-3 fatty acids, which are abundant in fish and fish oil supplements, appear promising for maintaining lung health, according to new evidence from a large, multi-faceted study in healthy adults. ...
July 7, 2023 — The mucus in the airways is not as sticky, inflammation in the lungs significantly reduced: Triple combination therapy can achieve these positive, lasting effects in patients with cystic fibrosis ...
June 22, 2023 — Small-cell lung cancer is a particularly aggressive type of tumor with a consistently high mortality rate. In recent years, the research of scientists has significantly contributed to a better ...
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
Tuesday, September 12, 2023
Thursday, September 7, 2023
Tuesday, September 5, 2023
Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Friday, August 25, 2023
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Wednesday, August 16, 2023
Friday, August 11, 2023
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
Tuesday, August 8, 2023
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
Thursday, July 20, 2023
Friday, July 7, 2023
Thursday, June 22, 2023
Thursday, June 8, 2023
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Wednesday, May 24, 2023
Friday, April 21, 2023
Friday, March 31, 2023
Tuesday, March 28, 2023
Friday, March 17, 2023
Wednesday, March 15, 2023
Monday, March 13, 2023
Friday, March 10, 2023
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Monday, February 27, 2023
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Wednesday, February 22, 2023
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Thursday, January 12, 2023
Monday, January 9, 2023
Thursday, January 5, 2023
Wednesday, January 4, 2023
Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Monday, December 26, 2022
Thursday, December 22, 2022
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Monday, December 5, 2022
Friday, December 2, 2022
Thursday, December 1, 2022
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
Tuesday, November 22, 2022
Monday, November 21, 2022
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Wednesday, November 16, 2022
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Thursday, November 3, 2022
Wednesday, November 2, 2022
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Monday, October 17, 2022
Monday, October 10, 2022
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Friday, September 23, 2022
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Monday, September 19, 2022
Friday, September 16, 2022
Thursday, September 15, 2022
Wednesday, September 14, 2022
Tuesday, September 13, 2022
Thursday, September 8, 2022
Tuesday, September 6, 2022
Monday, September 5, 2022
Friday, September 2, 2022
Thursday, September 1, 2022
Wednesday, August 31, 2022
Thursday, August 25, 2022
Thursday, August 18, 2022
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
Monday, August 8, 2022
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Monday, August 1, 2022
Thursday, July 28, 2022
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
Monday, July 25, 2022
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Monday, July 18, 2022
The Coronavirus Could Mutate To Cause More Severe Disease, According To Experts
The coronavirus subvariant JN.1 continues to retain its status as the most dominant strain in the United States this year.
According to CDC estimates, nearly 61 percent of COVID-19 cases are infections with the JN.1 strain. Over the course of one month, JN.1 went from being the third most prevalent strain in the U.S., after EG.5 and HV.1., to No. 1. Experts have previously said that JN.1 is largely contributing to this year's surge of winter illnesses as COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are on the rise in some parts of the country.
But as previously reported, JN.1 didn't come out of nowhere. In August 2023, virus trackers first discovered its parent, BA.2.86, and noted that it was significantly different from Omicron. With nearly double the number of mutations on the spike protein than previous strains, experts warned BA.2.86 likely had a stronger ability to bind to cells, making it more infectious. It also had a mutation in the virus's spike protein, which experts said increased the chances of immune evasion to the disease. Until recently, BA.2.86 and JN.1 were grouped together as experts referred to them as the so-called "Pirola clan." In December, the World Health Organization announced that it was classifying JN.1 as a separate variant of interest. This week, two new studies reveal not so great news about what has been dubbed the Pirola clan, perhaps revealing more clues as to why JN.1 is behind a coronavirus surge this winter.
In the first study published in the journal Cell, researchers found that BA.2.86, the parent of JN.1, can infect lung cells more efficiently. Specifically, the researchers found that it can infect lung cells more easily with the help of a cellular enzyme called TMPRSS2, suggesting that two mutations in the spike protein are responsible for making it easier for the virus to enter the lung cells. Researchers said this is significant because previously circulating Omicron sub-variants did not have this mutation, hence contributing to it being a "more mild" form of COVID-19. But the variants Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, which circulated during the first years of the pandemic, did have mutations that made it easier for the virus to enter into lung cells.
"It is noteworthy that two years after the global dominance of the Omicron variant, which fails to robustly enter lung cells, now a quite different virus is spreading," said Stefan Pöhlmann, co-author of the study and head of the Infection Biology Unity of the German Primate Center, said in a media release. "And that this virus is able to again enter lung cells with high efficiency."
The good news is that once the lung cells were infected, according to the study, they weren't able to replicate as effectively as the pre-Omicron variants.
A second study published in Cell this week by researchers at Ohio State University also found that BA.2.86 can merge with cells more efficiently and that they can easily infect cells in the lower lung. Both studies show that instead of the virus evolving to be more "mild" it could be evolving in a more disconcerting direction. What does this all mean for JN.1, which is dominating U.S. Infections?
Technically, the jury is still out regarding whether or not JN.1. Leads to more severe disease or not. These studies focused on BA.2.86. But as Ryan Gregory, an evolutionary and genome biologist at the University of Guelph in Canada, told Salon there are very few genetic differences between JN.1 and BA.2.86.
"It seems likely that the same lung infecting properties are found in JN.1, along with the significantly increased ability to infect new hosts versus BA.2.86," he told Salon via email, adding that there is good news in terms of how it weakly replicates. "No matter how virulent a variant is, it won't cause much damage overall if it can't successfully infect new hosts."
As the first study noted, BA.2.86 has not been especially successful in that regard. Gregory said it's concerning to see variants succeeding in terms of immune escape, transmissibility and its ability to infect the lungs. At the same time, he noted, the level of immunity in the world's population is much higher compared to pre-pandemic times. Just because JN.1 could be better at infecting lungs, and maybe even better at infecting more hosts, that doesn't necessarily mean JN.1 will "cause a huge wave of severe respiratory infections," he said.
"It will add to pressure on healthcare systems, though, and of course there is the ever-present issue of long COVID," he said, adding that future generations of JN.1 could pick up "additional mutations" that make it even more concerning. Indeed, this appears to be the crux of the concern.
Dr. Rajendram Rajnarayanan, of the New York Institute of Technology campus in Jonesboro, Arkansas, told Salon he is also concerned about what this means for future generations of the coronavirus.
"Concerns arise with JN.1 and its sublineages, as new mutations could potentially push boundaries," he said via email. "The lack of efficient lung tropism in previous Omicron lineages contributed to their mild presentation without immediate hospitalization requirements."
He added that he believes it's urgent for the next round of vaccines to be utilizing "a JN.1 spike backbone" and anticipate further mutations as the variant continues to spread.
In terms of how the coronavirus will evolve from here, Gregory emphasized that the idea that viruses evolve to become benign — like the coronavirus evolving into the "common cold" — is a "myth" and was never guaranteed. "That's not how evolution works," he said, adding that it's important to recognize that the current situation is "unprecedented."
"We've had pandemics before, but never one with 8 billion potential hosts, massive global travel, a virus that can infect and reinfect year-round, and a population living to older age as we have now," he said.
Comments
Post a Comment