Upon studying this group of animals and another group treated with a placebo, the researchers saw healthier overall lung cells and significantly
less lung inflammation and fibrosis in the rats treated with lung spheroid cells.
Dr Richard Booton, Consultant Respiratory Physician at the North West
Lung Centre and senior lecturer at the University's Institute of
Inflammation and Repair who led the study, said: «We wanted to see if there were any differences between patients aged
less than 70 years old and those older than 70, in terms of both the safety of the technique and how useful it was for diagnosis.