Healthy human lungs have traditionally been considered to be a sterile organ. However,
culture-independent molecular techniques have reported that large numbers of microbes …

The composition of the lung microbiome is increasingly well characterised, with changes in
microbial diversity or abundance observed in association with several chronic respiratory …

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third commonest cause of death
globally, and manifests as a progressive inflammatory lung disease with no curative …

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) published its first report
for the diagnosis and management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in …

Background Alterations in the composition of the lung microbiome associated with adverse
clinical outcomes, known as dysbiosis, have been implicated with disease severity and …

Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are the most commonly used anti-inflammatory drugs for the
treatment of COPD. COPD has been previously described as a “corticosteroid-resistant” …

Surfactant proteins A (SP-A) and D (SP-D) are soluble innate immune molecules which
maintain lung homeostasis through their dual roles as anti-infectious and …

Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are associated with a
significant mortality, health and economic burden. Their diagnosis, assessment and …

Exacerbations of COPD are associated with worsening of the airflow obstruction,
hospitalisation, reduced quality of life, disease progression and death. At least 70% of …

Although broad knowledge of influenza viral pneumonia has been established, the
significance of non-influenza respiratory viruses in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) …