It is expected that the rapid expansion of nanotechnology will bring many potential benefits. However, initial investigations have demonstrated that nanomaterials may adversely affect human health and the environment. By increasing the application of nanoparticles, protection of the human respiratory system from exposure to airborne nanoparticles and ultrafine particulates has become an emergin...

BACKGROUND Xylitol is a 5-carbon sugar that can lower the airway surface salt concentration, thus enhancing innate immunity. We tested the safety and tolerability of aerosolized iso-osmotic xylitol in mice and human volunteers. METHODS This was a prospective cohort study of C57Bl/6 mice in an animal laboratory and healthy human volunteers at the clinical research center of a university hospit...

This study characterizes the development of a head-out inhalation exposure system for assessing respiratory toxicity of vaporized chemical agents in untreated, non-anesthetized rats. The organophosphate diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) induces classical cholinergic toxicity following inhalation exposure and was utilized to validate the effectiveness of this newly designed inhalation exposure s...

TOPIC: Pediatrics TYPE: Fellow Case Reports INTRODUCTION: Bronchiectasis is often considered to involve irreversible airway damage. We present a patient who developed significant bronchiectasis after smoke inhalation, with near complete resolution few months later. CASE PRESENTATION: An eight-year-old female presented she sustained injuries in trailer fire. She was intubated due facial burns, a...

Recent speculative articles in the medical literature have indicted certain inhalational anesthetics as contributing to global warming. This unfounded speculation may have deleterious patient impact.