Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease News and Research

Latest Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease News and Research

Antibiotic use common at the end of life

More than one-quarter of hospice patients receive antibiotics in their last week of life, despite the absence of documented infection in most cases, US researchers report.

25 Jan 2013

Call for more COPD screening for smokers

Screening smokers with spirometry for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease picks up more cases than symptom-based detection, research suggests.

22 Jan 2013

Knee replacement pain predicted by comorbidity

Research may help physicians give patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty a realistic expectation of surgery outcome based on their overall physical and mental health, US researchers believe.

21 Jan 2013

Degree of emphysema predicts mortality in ever-smokers with or without COPD

Severity of emphysema, as measured by computed tomography (CT), is a strong independent predictor of all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality in ever-smokers with or without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study from researchers in Norway. In patients with severe emphysema, airway wall thickness is also associated with mortality from respiratory causes.

18 Jan 2013

FDA clears Sanovas’ Vas Zeppelin Smart Catheter to treat chronic pulmonary diseases, lung cancer

Sanovas Inc., a life science technology company developing and commercializing the next-generation of micro-invasive diagnostics, devices and drug delivery technologies, announced today that it has filed with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for clearance of the company's Vas Zeppelin Smart Catheter for the treatment of chronic pulmonary diseases and lung cancer.

17 Jan 2013

Patients with COPD more likely to develop serious bacterial infections

It is well known that COPD patients run a higher risk of contracting respiratory infections. However, a new thesis from Lund University in Sweden shows that they are also at higher risk of other bacterial infections, such as tuberculosis (TB) and pneumococcal and staphylococcal infections that can cause serious illness.

16 Jan 2013

Beta blocker use linked to NSCLC patient survival

Beta blockers may boost survival in patients undergoing definitive radiotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer, suggests research published in the Annals of Oncology.

14 Jan 2013

Antibiotics do not help lower-respiratory tract infections

The antibiotic amoxicillin fares no better at reducing symptoms in patients with lower-respiratory tract infections than a placebo drug, indicate data from a dozen European countries.

28 Dec 2012

Ulcerative colitis impairs work capacity

Patients with ulcerative colitis have higher rates of sick leave or disability pension than the general population, show findings published in Gastroenterology.

28 Dec 2012

New once-daily dual bronchodilator effective in COPD

A once-daily, inhaled, fixed-dose dual bronchodilator combination has greater efficacy than twice-daily salmeterol plus fluticasone for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, results of the phase III ILLUMINATE trial show.

18 Dec 2012

Strong unadjusted relationship between COPD, pneumonia and lung cancer

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are two of the most important smoking-related diseases worldwide, with a huge combined mortality bur-den. Many consider the presence of COPD itself to be an independent risk factor for lung cancer. Others argue that smoking contributes to both COPD and lung cancer.

17 Dec 2012

Scientists identify new mutation in a gene that causes Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency

Scientists have identified a new mutation in the gene that causes the inherited disease known as Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency (Alpha-1), which affects roughly one in 2,500 people of European descent.

14 Dec 2012

Spotlight on acute respiratory distress syndrome in low-risk surgery

Postoperative acute respiratory distress syndrome is rare in patients undergoing low-risk surgery, but still carries a very high mortality rate, a large study shows.

12 Dec 2012

Tiotropium benefits patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

In order to widen the narrowed airways in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), tiotropium bromide (tiotropium in brief) is one of the drugs available that can be prescribed for inhalation. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) has examined whether tiotropium offers a perceptible advantage to patients compared to a dummy medication (placebo) and to other COPD drugs.

12 Dec 2012

Almirall, Forest Laboratories' Tudorza Pressair now available in the U.S. pharmacies

Forest Laboratories, Inc. and Almirall, S.A. announced today that Tudorza Pressair (aclidinium bromide inhalation powder) 400mcg is now available in pharmacies throughout the United States.

11 Dec 2012

Over three million American workers diagnosed with cancer each year, reports study

Each year, more than three million American workers are diagnosed with cancer, leading to high productivity losses that mainly affect smaller companies, reports a study in the December Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).

7 Dec 2012

Research Roundup: Medicare Advantage Plan beneficiaries may get more appropriate use of services; CHIP participation grows; College students' flu vaccination rates weak

Analysis Of Medicare Advantage HMOs Compared With Traditional Medicare Shows Lower Use of Many Services During 2003-09 – Researchers compared the utilization rates of Medicare Advantage health maintenance organizations (HMOs) with those of traditional Medicare beneficiaries, 2003-09, "to ascertain whether the HMO enrollees demonstrated different levels of use of services, which can be a hallmark of more integrated care."

7 Dec 2012

New investigational procedure may prolong life for patients with severe COPD

November is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Awareness Month. COPD, also known as emphysema, is the third leading cause of death in the United States, only behind heart disease and cancer. Right now, the only studied interventions that prolong life for patients with severe COPD are supplemental oxygen in people with low oxygen levels and lung volume reduction surgery (LVRS) in appropriately selected individuals.

28 Nov 2012

CLCA1 molecule plays a special role in the mucus pathway

Respiratory conditions that restrict breathing such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are common killers worldwide. But no effective treatments exist to address the major cause of death in these conditions - excess mucus production.

26 Nov 2012

First evidence of blood vessel dysfunction found in healthy young people with cystic fibrosis

The first evidence of blood vessel dysfunction has been found in a small cohort of generally healthy young people with cystic fibrosis, researchers report.

26 Nov 2012