Chicken soup research featured in 75th anniversary issue of Chest

Stephen Rennard, M.D., and his wife, Barbara, work on a pot of chicken soup. A famous manuscript by the couple about benefits of chicken soup in treating upper respiratory tract infections has been included in the 75th anniversary issue of the scientific journal, Chest.

A manuscript on the famous chicken soup research of UNMC’s Stephen Rennard, M.D., is included in the 75th Anniversary Commemorative issue of Chest — a publication of the American College of Chest Physicians.

The issue includes 75 articles selected for their importance and general interest.

The chicken soup study has attracted media attention since 1993 when it was presented as an abstract at a scientific conference. It’s even become the focus of a question in the Trivial Pursuit board game.

“When I’m gone, out of all the research I’ve done, I’ll probably be remembered most for my research on chicken soup,” said Dr. Rennard, Larson Professor of Medicine in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Section and a world-renowned expert in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

More online View more about Dr. Rennard’s chicken soup research, including video of Barbara Rennard making her famous recipe.

The full study, published in 2000, was conducted at UNMC and led by Dr. Rennard. The manuscript in Chest is authored by Barbara Rennard (Dr. Rennard’s wife), Ronald Ertl, Gail Gossman, Richard Robbins, M.D., and Dr. Rennard.

It found that chicken soup may contain a number of substances, including an anti-inflammatory mechanism, that could ease the symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections.

Glenn Tillotson, M.D., guest editor of the commemorative issue, described the study as “a remarkably rigorous investigation.”

The research has received steady mainstream media attention since 1993 and Barbara Rennard’s chicken soup recipe has appeared in several newspapers, magazines and cookbooks.