Medicine
fromNature
1 day agoPreserving the respiratory system
Air quality, exposome analysis, improved diagnostics, and new regenerative and drug therapies are central to preventing and treating lung diseases like pulmonary fibrosis.
The conventional approach to evaluating the impact of air pollution is to focus on a single exposure during a fixed period of time. But evidence suggests that contaminants work together, magnifying the damage to people's lungs. Conventional studies fail to probe synergistic effects. They also ignore the cumulative effects of lifelong exposures to pollutants, known as the exposome. Researchers need to shift away from single-pollutant studies and towards those involving a broad range of exposures.