Episode description

The COVID pandemic has shone a lens on the issue of mechanical ventilators.  No one wants to get that sick that ventilation is required just to have a chance at staying alive. In turn, what if there was a way to predict who would have a severe lung disease response or go on to suffer from acute respiratory distress syndrome (ADRS) and who wouldn't?  Well, some clever scientists have just discovered why some people show a high level of inflammation and seem to go on and suffer with ADRS.  In this LiveStream, I'm going to review this exciting breakthrough recently presented by the European Respiratory Society this week on Monday. Using next-generation sequencing, they were able to work out that the diversity of the lung fungal microflora (the mycobiome) predicted not only inflammation but detected the risk for which groups of people would have more severe lung disease.  I'll even tell you the biomarker they tracked.  So, what does this mean for you...well, if you have a predisposition to lung disease, then you'll want to tune in and find out why having a more diverse lung fungal mycobiome is better than lungs that show a dominance of one particular fungus.  Tune into the Livestream to find out which fungus is the worst to have growing inside.  

REFERENCES:

Abstract no: 3044, "Diversity of the lung microbiome is associated with severity of disease in acute respiratory distress syndrome", by Noel Britton et al; Online from Monday 24 August and presented in the "New insights into mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit" session at 09.30 hrs CEST on Monday 7 September: https://k4.ersnet.org/prod/v2/Front/Program/Session?e=259&session=12387

Fornai F, Carrizzo A, Forte M, et al. The inflammatory protein Pentraxin 3 in cardiovascular disease. Immun Ageing. 2016;13(1):25. Published 2016 Aug 24. doi:10.1186/s12979-016-0080-1