Patients & Carers meeting April 2017

NOTE: the sound quality of this recording is very poor but many of the slides have good notes and there are linkouts to other content so it is worthwhile persevering.

Dr Paschalis Vergilis is the latest addition to the National Aspergillosis Centre team who comes here after extensive training in the US including the highly prestigious Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. Paschalis describes his first research project which is an attempt to treat fungal balls in the lung in situ by direct instillation of one of the newer antifungal drugs.

Last month Nigel, Pam & Adam presented a singing session as a taster to see if we had sufficient interest to run a choir. In the meantime we have raised the idea of promoting singing via Skype too. We have decided with the patients group to push forward with the latter and hope to make progress with the former.

Katie Holmes is a student at University of Manchester doing a project in science communication. She opted to explore the levels of awareness of the impact that damp in our homes has on our health. She is comparing the opinions of a student population with that of a group of our patients and has produced a very good video intended to promote awareness in both groups.

Resources mentioned:

• Paper on instillation of an antifungal drug into lung cavities contining aspergilloma
• Virtual Choir of thousands (Eric Whitehead)
• Hidden dangers: Damp in the home (Katie Holmes)
• Use of musical melody to promote regular breathing (Pam & Nigel Jay)