Joan Cousins was among a generation of young women who heard—and bought into the idea—that puffing on a cigarette was sophisticated, modern, even liberating. No one suspected it would make them more than equal to men in suffering a choking, life-shortening lung disease. “Everybody smoked. It was the cool thing to do,” said Cousins, who...
Tag: <span>COPD</span>
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Practicing Tai Chi helps improve respiratory function in patients with COPD
Finding ways to help patients with COPD improve their functional status is an area of interest for pulmonary healthcare providers. Currently, pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is used where available to improve exercise capacity and quality of life, but the treatment requires access to trained staff and specialized facilities. A new study in the journal CHEST looked at Tai Chi as...
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University of Cincinnati researcher receives US patent for potential COPD treatment
A researcher in the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine has been granted a U.S. patent for a potential treatment for a pulmonary infection in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The treatment, known as AB569, was developed in the lab of Daniel Hassett, Ph.D., a professor in the...
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Rheumatoid arthritis linked to an increased risk of COPD
New research suggests that rheumatoid arthritis may increase the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The findings, which appear in Arthritis Care & Research, indicate that greater vigilance may be needed to protect the respiratory health of individuals with chronic inflammatory conditions. Research has demonstrated an association between COPD and inflammation, raising the question...
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Stem cells could offer hope for patients with lung damage from COPD and asthma
Stem cell therapy could treat damaged lung cells (bottom right). Early stage trials have shown promise for a cell-based therapy for treating lung tissue damaged by respiratory diseases. In a collaboration between Imperial College London and Hong Kong University (HKU), scientists have shown that the stem cells can reduce some of the damage seen in human lung...
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Supplemental Oxygen Provides No Survival Benefit to Patients with Stable COPD and Moderate Resting Desaturations
What do new findings tell us about the role of long-term supplemental oxygen in patients with stable COPD? Long-term supplemental oxygen provides no benefit in terms of survival or time to first hospitalization in patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with moderate resting desaturations (pulse oximetry [SpO2], 89 to 93%) or exercise induced...
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Nurses’ regular use of disinfectants is associated with developing COPD
Milan, Italy: Regular use of disinfectants is linked to a higher risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to new research looking at incidence of the disease in over 55,000 nurses in the USA. Dr Orianne Dumas (PhD) from INSERM, Villejuif, France, will tell the European Respiratory Society International Congress today (Monday) that...
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Therapy proves effective in subgroup of COPD patients
MILAN, ITALY, Sept. 12, 2017 – An antibody treatment reduces the rate of flare-ups by nearly 20 percent in patients with a subgroup of treatment-resistant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the results of two large international trials presented today at the European Respiratory Society International Congress in Milan, Italy, and simultaneously published in...
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Statins may help people with COPD live longer
(HealthDay)—Drugs known as statins may have benefits beyond lowering “bad” LDL cholesterol levels. A new study suggests people with chronic lung disease who take these drugs may extend their survival. The study from Canada included nearly 40,000 people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). One in five patients was taking a statin, and those individuals had a...
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Fluticasone furoate slows loss of lung function in COPD
(HealthDay)—Regular use of fluticasone furoate (FF), either alone or in combination with vilanterol (VI), appears to reduce the rate of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) decline in patients with moderate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and a high risk of cardiovascular disease, according to a study published online July 24 in the American Journal...