Emphysema News and Research

Latest Emphysema News and Research

Study finds why corticosteroids do not work well for COPD patients

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) leads to persistent inflammation of the airways and is typically managed with corticosteroids, a class of anti-inflammatory medication. However, corticosteroids do not improve survival nor alter the progression of COPD and may reduce lung symptoms as little as 20 percent.

19 Oct 2011

Potential new protein target for pulmonary hypertension

A protein critical to development appears to have a grave impact on lungs exposed to smoking and air pollution, researchers report.

18 Oct 2011

Researchers demonstrate that iPS stem cells may be used for gene therapy

This research, published on Oct. 12 on the Nature review website, provides evidence of a major concept could pave the way for the future use of these stem cells to treat humans, through perspective gene therapies.

14 Oct 2011

New insight into how emphysema and COPD develop

By studying mice exposed to tobacco smoke for a period of months, researchers have new insight into how emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) develop.

14 Oct 2011

Skin cell to liver cell shows promise for genetic liver disease

In a new scientific breakthrough, researchers have taken skin cells from a patient with liver disease and turned them into replacement liver cells. Although the procedure is years before it can be used in humans, but if approved, it could launch a new era of personalized therapies for serious genetic disorders.

13 Oct 2011

Isis designates ISIS-AATRx candidate in collaboration with GSK

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has designated the second development candidate, ISIS-AATRx, in its collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline

12 Oct 2011

Secondhand tobacco smoke harms children in China

The more Chinese children are exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke, the more they have symptoms like coughing at night, sneezing, phlegm without a cold, sneezing with itchy-watery eyes and impaired lung-function growth.

11 Oct 2011

Boehringer Ingelheim receives FDA approval for COMBIVENT RESPIMAT to treat COPD

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved COMBIVENT RESPIMAT, a new, propellant-free inhaler product that uses a slow-moving mist to deliver the same active ingredients of COMBIVENT Inhalation Aerosol in a metered dose inhaler.

10 Oct 2011

Loyola surgeon performs minimally invasive emergency procedure to repair AAA

Jack Kory of Mokena, Il. was eating his breakfast oatmeal when he suddenly felt the worst pain in his life. The searing pain came on suddenly in his stomach and spread to his knees. It was caused by an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that had suddenly burst, causing massive internal bleeding. Traditionally, few patients have survived such ruptures. But Loyola University Medical Center vascular surgeon Dr. Richard Hershberger was able to repair Kory's aneurysm with a minimally invasive emergency procedure.

10 Oct 2011

Radiation risk in cigarettes hidden by tobacco companies

A new study of historical documents revealed that tobacco companies knew that cigarettes contained a radioactive substance called polonium-210, but hid that knowledge from the public for over four decades.

2 Oct 2011

Elevation presents positive data from EP-101 Phase 2a study on COPD at ERS annual meeting

Elevation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of new aerosol therapies for patients with respiratory diseases, announced today that it presented positive results from a Phase 2a study of EP-101 in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a large and growing disease characterized by significant unmet clinical needs, at the annual meeting of the European Respiratory Society.

27 Sep 2011

Scientists identify genetic variants associated with lung health

Scientists have for the first time discovered sixteen new sections of the genetic code that relate to lung health -- opening up the possibility for better prevention as well as treatment for lung diseases.

26 Sep 2011

Roxon plans to propagate tough stands on tobacco packaging

Health Minister Nicola Roxon plans to encourage other countries to follow Australia's push for plain-packaged tobacco at a major United Nations summit on chronic diseases today.

19 Sep 2011

Lung Flute provides relief to Buffalo-area patients with COPD

An easy-to-use device developed by a local biomedical company is providing relief to Buffalo-area patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

7 Sep 2011

Consumer groups, economists and members of Congress oppose Medicare's bidding system

As Medicare expands a controversial "competitive" bidding program for home medical equipment and services, economists, consumer groups, and members of Congress have gone on record to oppose that program citing reduced patient access to care, flaws in the program design, and impact on local jobs.

20 Aug 2011

Gene therapy cocktail can treat inherited diseases with 'misfolded' proteins

In a kind of molecular gymnastics, scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have devised a gene therapy cocktail that has the potential to treat some inherited diseases associated with "misfolded" proteins.

16 Aug 2011

Structural changes associated with frequent exacerbations identified in lungs of COPD patients

Using computed tomography (CT), researchers have identified two types of structural changes in the lungs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that are associated with frequent exacerbations, or episodes when symptoms suddenly worsen. Their findings are published online in the journal Radiology.

28 Jul 2011

Volunteers needed in worldwide study to help people breathe easier

Australian sufferers of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), one of the most important causes of breathlessness and difficulty performing tasks of normal daily life, have the opportunity to participate in a worldwide study, starting this month, assessing a potential new treatment.

26 Jul 2011

Many smokers disbelieve health risk warnings: Survey

A new survey has revealed that nearly a third of smokers believe the health effects of smoking are exaggerated. Also less than four in 10 smokers are able to identify emphysema as a health effect of smoking. The survey was conducted over phone by the Cancer Council and included 861 smokers in 2009. The results were collated this year.

24 Jul 2011

Short telomeres may increase risk of emphysema

Telomeres, the body's own cellular clocks, may be a crucial factor underlying the development of emphysema, according to research from Johns Hopkins University.

15 Jul 2011