Pioneering new tests and treatments for tackling airways disease highlighted

May 7 2009

Pioneering new tests and treatments developed in Leicester for people with conditions like asthma and chronic cough are to be presented at a public event at the University of Leicester.

The University of Leicester, in partnership with the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, has led the world in new tests for airways diseases and introducing new therapies.

Now Professor Chris Brightling, of the Department of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, will describe highlights of a decade of research - as well as discussing developments over the next 10 years and beyond.

He will deliver his inaugural lecture. 'It's all in the Name: Unravelling the Complexity of Airways Disease' in the Ken Edwards Building lecture theatre 1 on Tuesday 12th of May 2009 at 5:30pm.

Professor Brightling said: "Airways disease namely asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic cough affect about 1 in 5 adults. In 2020, COPD is predicted to become the third leading cause of death worldwide.

"In order to overcome these debilitating conditions there have been major strides in developing better ways of describing these conditions and in particular how people with the same conditions are very unique with individual patterns of disease and response to treatment.

"This approach has meant that the respiratory group in Leicester has led the world in new tests for airways disease and introduced new therapies. Working with colleagues at the University of Leicester, in partnership with the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, we have contributed perhaps more to airways disease in the last 10 years than any other centre in the world."

Professor Brightling is a member of the World Health Organisation's leading group for severe asthma and is a member of the American and European asthma and cough guidelines.