Potential Treatment for Infant Lung Disease

Massachusetts General Hospital and Genzyme Corp. have identified a possible treatment for a chronic lung disease in premature infants.

A study in American Journal of Physiology — Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology found a growth factor that plays a major role in lung disease, or bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Inhibiting the activity of this growth factor in an injured newborn lung may decrease the severity or incidence of the disease.

Senior author Dr. Jesse Roberts Jr. said the results are exciting, since bronchopulmonary dysplasia is the most common lung disease of premature infants.

The disease affects about 15 percent of premature infants and leads to chronic lung disease in 10,000 to 20,000 U.S. infants annually. Most of the infants — 65 percent — who are affected have a birth weight of less than 1 pound, 10 ounces.