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Alexander David Martyn Larcombe Martino Symons BScEnv (Hons) PhD BSc PhD B.A. (Hons) PhD. Honorary Research Fellow Head, Chronic Diseases Research
Join us for our Annual Community Lecture entitled "You Are What You Breathe" with Professor Stephen Holgate.
In utero exposure to arsenic via drinking water increases the risk of lower respiratory tract infections during infancy and mortality from bronchiectasis in...
The constant-phase model (CPM) is commonly fit to respiratory system input impedance (Z rs) to estimate lung mechanics.
A hallmark of atopic asthma is development of chronic airways hyper-responsiveness (AHR) that persists in the face of ongoing exposure to perennial...
Adverse prenatal conditions can induce intrauterine growth restriction and increase the risk of adulthood metabolic disease. Mechanisms underlying developmentally programmed metabolic disease remain unclear but may involve disrupted postnatal circadian rhythms and kisspeptin signalling.
Electronic cigarettes ("e-cigarettes") are often marketed as smoking cessation tools and are used by smokers to reduce/quit cigarette smoking. The objective of this study was to assess the health effects of switching to e-cigarettes after long-term smoking in a mouse model and compare these effects with continued smoking, or quitting entirely.
Alcohol pharmacotherapies pose unknown teratogenic risks in pregnancy and are therefore recommended to be avoided. This limits treatment options for pregnant individuals with alcohol use disorders (AUD). The information on the safety of these medications during pregnancy is uncertain, prompting a scoping review. The objective of this review was to investigate available information on the safety of alcohol pharmacotherapies in pregnancy.
The complex arborization of the feto-placental vasculature is crucial for optimal fetal nutrition, waste exchange and ultimately, development. Ethical and experimental limitations constrain research into the human placenta, hence experimental animal models such as mice and rats, are crucial to understand placental function. It is unclear how well the mouse and rat feto-placental vascular structure emulates human. Moreover, the implications of differences in vascular structure, especially in arborization, for placental function remain unclear.
From the results of well-performed population health studies, we now have excellent data demonstrating that deficits in adult lung function may be present early in life, possibly as a result of developmental disorders, incurring a lifelong risk of obstructive airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.