Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 2 of 2
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Developing Novel Therapeutics For Bacterial Lung Infections, Brandon J. Baer, Ruud Veldhuizen, Cory Yamashita
Developing Novel Therapeutics For Bacterial Lung Infections, Brandon J. Baer, Ruud Veldhuizen, Cory Yamashita
Western Research Forum
Background: Bacterial lung infections are leading causes of death worldwide. Unfortunately, increasing resistance to antibiotics and the inflammation often accompanying these infections are leading to poor outcomes despite antibiotic intervention. Complicating treatment further, the tree-like branching structure of the lung makes drug delivery to distal sites of infection difficult. Our research aims to address these challenges by developing new therapeutics and new tools to improve and assess drug delivery, bacterial killing and inflammation. Our therapy combines host defense peptides, which have been shown to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria and down regulate inflammation, with a pulmonary vehicle, exogenous surfactant, that can improve …
Maternal Protein Restriction (Mpr): A Risk Factor For Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (Ards), Reza Khazaee
Maternal Protein Restriction (Mpr): A Risk Factor For Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (Ards), Reza Khazaee
Western Research Forum
Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is defined as severe lung dysfunction. The lung impairments in ARDS result from alterations to pulmonary surfactant; a lipid-protein mixture coating the inside of the lung and maintains the lungs’ ability to expand easily. Due to a lack of effective pharmacological therapies mortality associated with ARDS is over 30%. Our research focuses on risk factors that indicate a susceptibility to the disease, which could provide new and early therapeutic options. One such potential risk factor is Maternal Protein Restriction (MPR). MPR is defined by low birth weight and contributes to a variety of adult-onset …