University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health researchers conduct a study of respiratory conditions. [Click to enlarge]

For babies born very prematurely, just surviving may not be the only hurdle.

A University researcher found that babies born very prematurely may have lifelong chronic lung problems. Andy Lovering, an assistant professor of human physiology, says more research needs to be done to help premature babies, and he hopes to conduct some of that research at the University.

At the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Lovering helped conduct a study as a postdoctoral fellow. In the study, he discovered about 30 percent of babies born very prematurely suffer from lung problems later in life. The study was published in the journal High Altitude Medicine and Biology this year.

Lovering and his colleagues were studying the reasons why some people suffer from high altitude related illnesses, including High Altitude Pulmonary Edema. At high altitudes, water accumulates in the lungs of those who suffer from HAPE, and doesn't let enough oxygen into their lungs, Lovering said. This makes sufferers feel as if they can't breathe, and is a problem which can result in death.

"It's not really understood why some people have it, and others don't," Lovering said.

During the study, researchers found a 27-year-old who appeared as if he was having an asthma attack during an exercise. He didn't, however, suffer from any asthma problems.

"I thought he for sure had asthma or there was something wrong with our machines, but we eventually decided he had lung problems," Lovering said, adding the man had suffered from a previous bout of HAPE.

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