Emphysema

Emphysema is a debilitating disease that afflicts more than three million Americans. The disease is caused primarily by smoking and leads to a progressive, irreversible breakdown of lung tissue.

Emphysema Pathophysiology, Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment

Emphysema is a chronic or long term lung disease. This disease is typically called hyperinflation.

Emphysema Pathology and Function

Latest Emphysema News and Research

Study focuses on COPD progression in younger populations

Researchers are exploring how small airway abnormalities in younger smokers could help identify who is at risk of developing COPD and establish how the chronic lung disease progresses, according to a new article.

15 Nov 2024

New approach to COPD focuses on socioeconomic factors and comorbidities

Health care providers treating people with COPD also need to focus on the person's socioeconomic factors, along with considering their additional health conditions or comorbidities, according to a new article.

7 Nov 2024

Mountain town confronts an unexpected public health catastrophe

Before Hurricane Helene, had you stopped by one of the many breweries, art galleries, or award-winning restaurants in Asheville, North Carolina, and spoken with anyone who lives in these parts — including me — most would have told you they felt pretty safe from climate disasters.

18 Oct 2024

FDA’s promised rules on pulse oximeters unlikely to end decades of racial bias

The patient was in his 60s, an African American man with emphysema. The oximeter placed on his fingertip registered well above the 88% blood oxygen saturation level that signals an urgent risk of organ failure and death.

7 Oct 2024

Voice changes detected by smartphone may signal COPD symptom flare-ups

Changes in people's voices recoded on a smartphone can signal a serious flare up in symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a pilot study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress in Vienna, Austria.

9 Sep 2024

Improving COPD outcomes through enhanced inhaler education and technique

Inhaler misuse leading to inadequate medication delivery impacts a person's ability to manage symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and additional education about proper inhaler use is needed to improve health outcomes, according to two new articles. The articles are published in the July 2024 issue of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases: Journal of the COPD Foundation, a peer-reviewed, open-access journal.

21 Aug 2024

Health-based action plan offers protection for COPD and asthma patients from wildfires

Communities impacted by increased wildfire activity and smoke can use a population health-based action plan to help alleviate health risks, particularly for those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma, according to a new perspective article.

14 Aug 2024

New research identifies key protein complex in cellular quality control

Anyone who's tried to neatly gather a fitted sheet can tell you: folding is hard. Get it wrong with your laundry and the result can be a crumpled, wrinkled mess of fabric, but when folding fails among the approximately 7,000 proteins with an origami-like complexity that regulate essential cellular functions, the result can lead to one of a multitude of serious diseases ranging from emphysema and cystic fibrosis to Alzheimer's disease.

12 Aug 2024

Dupilumab shows promise in cutting COPD flare-ups and boosting lung function

Dupilumab significantly reduces exacerbations and improves lung function in COPD patients with elevated eosinophil counts, confirming the efficacy of targeting type 2 inflammation.

22 May 2024

Low-fat diets significantly reduce lung cancer risk in older adults, study finds

Study found that adhering to low-fat diets significantly reduces lung cancer risk in older adults, with the most substantial benefits observed in current smokers. High consumption of saturated fats was linked to increased lung cancer risk, particularly for small-cell lung cancer.

20 May 2024

Progression of subtle CT abnormalities in smokers predicts acute respiratory disease

Smokers who have small abnormalities on their CT scans that grow over time have a greater likelihood of experiencing acute respiratory disease events, according to a new study published today in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America.

30 Apr 2024

New synthetic lung surfactant could revolutionize treatment for premature babies

Scientists have developed a new lung surfactant that is produced synthetically rather than relying on the use of animal tissues.

25 Mar 2024

Research uncovers link between reproductive factors and COPD risk in women

A range of reproductive factors, including age when periods first start and an early menopause, are all linked to a heightened risk of COPD—the umbrella term for progressive lung conditions that cause breathing difficulties—finds research published online in the journal Thorax.

14 Feb 2024

The FTC is attacking drugmakers’ ‘patent thickets’

The Federal Trade Commission has challenged the validity of over 100 drug product patents, focusing on devices used to deliver medicines, like inhalers and autoinjectors, in an effort to increase competition and potentially lower some prices.

31 Jan 2024

Morphine shows potential as effective cough therapy for pulmonary fibrosis, study finds

The efficacy of the controlled release of low-dose morphine as treatment against that of a placebo in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

18 Jan 2024

Study points to senolytic drugs as potential weapon against lung emphysema

A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 15, Issue 23, entitled, "Benidipine calcium channel blocker promotes the death of cigarette smoke-induced senescent cells and improves lung emphysema."

20 Dec 2023

IASLC publishes key considerations for managing low-dose CT lung cancer screening programs

Annual low-dose CT screening has been recently shown to result in high cure rates of over 80%, but methods of conducting a lung cancer screening program vary and best practices have yet to emerge.

20 Dec 2023

Daily beetroot juice supplement improves blood pressure and walking distance in COPD patients

A 12-week course of daily beetroot juice supplement for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) lowered blood pressure and improved how far patients could walk in six minutes in research published today (Wednesday) in the European Respiratory Journal.

19 Dec 2023

Combined marijuana and cigarette smoking may increase lung damage

Smoking marijuana in combination with cigarettes may lead to increased damage of the lung's air sacs, according to research being presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

28 Nov 2023

Study provides insights into the epidemiology and genetics of clonal hematopoiesis

A comprehensive new study from deCODE genetics, a subsidiary of Amgen, published today in Nature Genetics, provides insights into the epidemiology and somatic and germline genetics of clonal hematopoiesis.

7 Nov 2023