New research reported in the July issue of Chest shows that systemic and clinical pulmonary-only sarcoidosis may be caused by different environmental exposures that ultimately lead to these different subsets of the same disease. Researchers found that the duration and intensity of exposure to some environmental elements may be related to the development of sarcoidosis, because patients exposed to metal dust at work and at home/hobby were more likely to have pulmonary-only disease. Researchers also found that African-Americans’ exposure to wood burning and Caucasians’ exposure to agricultural organic dust are associated with different phenotypes of sarcoidosis. This finding may indicate that African-Americans and Caucasians are affected differently by the same exposures or that they come into contact with different exposures.
Genes Linked to Lung Cancer
Using technology that makes it possible to zoom in on smaller sections of cell chromosomes than ever before, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, have identified nearly 100 chromosome regions where genes are either overcopied or missing in non-small-cell lung cancer. The findings provide new clues about the location of genes potentially involved in the most common type of lung cancer—and one of the deadliest of all malignancies––and a range of possible targets for future therapies. The study was reported in the June 27 online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
“Previous studies have identified a small set of mutated or abnormal genes that are associated with non-small-cell lung cancer,” says the study’s lead author, Giovanni Tonon, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber. “But we also know that the chromosomes of these cells contain a large number of irregular regions where genes have been either deleted or copied over and over again, which suggests that a large number of cancer genes remain to be discovered.”
Anti-Tobacco Advertising
Reduced cigarette smoking and more favorable antismoking attitudes were found among youth exposed to state-sponsored anti-tobacco advertising, according to a study in the July issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Sherry Emery, PhD, from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and colleagues examined the association between exposure to state anti-tobacco advertising and youth smoking-related beliefs and behaviors. The researchers used targeted rating points (TRP) to assess the ratings of an tobacco advertisement among US teen audiences. “Our analyses suggest that state-sponsored anti-tobacco media campaigns were associated with more favorable antismoking attitudes and beliefs among youth and reduced youth smoking,” the authors write. “The strong associations between antismoking attitudes and beliefs, as well as reduced smoking, among students with a state TRP measure of at least one suggest that it is important to maintain a minimal mean exposure level of at least one cumulative state-sponsored anti-tobacco ad per 4-month period for the general teen viewing audience.”
