Chronic Bronchitis News and Research

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Vitamin D provides no relief from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Earlier studies have suggested that up to three quarters of people with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, are deficient in the vitamin. So it was thought that giving them extra vitamin D might help prevent exacerbations in symptoms or trips to the hospital because of shortness of breath or mucus in the airways. Belgian researchers have refuted this claim.

17 Jan 2012

Occasional marijuana use does not affect lung function: Study

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has shown that an occasional drag on marijuana does not appear to have long-term adverse effects on lung function.

11 Jan 2012

Losartan may help prevent smoking-related COPD

Working with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins have successfully used a commonly prescribed blood pressure medicine, losartan (Cozaar), to prevent almost all of the lung damage caused from two months of exposure to cigarette smoke. The treatment specifically targeted lung tissue breakdown, airway wall thickening, inflammation and lung over-expansion.

4 Jan 2012

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

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

Cigarette smoke interferes with Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator protein

If you smoke cigarettes, you have more in common with someone who has cystic fibrosis than you think. A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal shows that smoking cigarettes affects the lungs in a way that is very similar to cystic fibrosis, a life threatening disease affecting the lungs and other organs.

13 Oct 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

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

Two thirds of women with breast cancer more likely to die from cardiovascular disease

Breast cancer accounts for almost a third of all cancer cases reported in women. However advances in the treatment for breast cancer, and early detection, have improved the chances of survival from the disease.

20 Jun 2011

Tiotropium Respimat inhalers can increase risk of death in patients with bronchitis, emphysema

An inhaler designed to help chronic bronchitis and emphysema sufferers breathe could be significantly increasing their risk of dying, according to new research by the University of East Anglia (UEA) and three US universities.

14 Jun 2011

Study associates VDR gene variant with onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in men

Researchers have linked a variant in the vitamin D receptor gene (VDR) with the onset of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in Caucasian men. The study population consisted of participants in the Veterans Administration Normative Aging Study, a multidisciplinary study of aging that began in 1963.

16 May 2011

Forest Labs fourth quarter net sales increase 9.7% to $1,091.9 million

Forest Laboratories, Inc., an international pharmaceutical manufacturer and marketer, announced that reported earnings per share equaled $1.12 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

19 Apr 2011

Scientist discovers new molecular mechanism underlying asthma, COPD

Michael Croft, Ph.D., a researcher at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, has discovered a molecule's previously unknown role as a major trigger for airway remodeling, which impairs lung function, making the molecule a promising therapeutic target for chronic asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and several other lung conditions.

18 Apr 2011

Researchers develop non-steroid based strategy for patients with COPD

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have developed a non-steroid based strategy for improving the lung's innate immune defense and decreasing inflammation that can be a problem for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

15 Apr 2011

Test that measures destruction of lung air sacs, could help prevent progression of emphysema

During a regular annual physical exam, blood is usually drawn to check the health of a person's heart, kidneys and liver. Now, researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center say a blood test that detects the early development of emphysema -- well before symptoms occur -- may someday also be offered.

12 Mar 2011

Novartis QAB149 receives FDA Pulmonary-Allergy Advisory Committee approval for COPD

An advisory committee recommended today that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve QAB149 (indacaterol) 75 mcg in the US as a once-daily long-term maintenance bronchodilator treatment of airflow obstruction in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including chronic bronchitis and/or emphysema.

9 Mar 2011

FDA approves roflumilast to treat COPD

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved roflumilast, a pill taken daily to decrease the frequency of flare-ups or worsening of symptoms from severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

1 Mar 2011

New drug approved for COPD by the FDA

The U.S. FDA has approved a new treatment for people with worsening symptoms of severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). COPD affects smokers and the elderly and leads to severe difficulty in breathing, chronic cough and excessive mucus production. An exacerbation can last up to several weeks and result in a decline in lung function and increased risk of death, and it may be associated with severe anxiety, the FDA says.

1 Mar 2011

FDA approves Forest Labs' Daliresp to treat COPD

Forest Laboratories, Inc. announced today that Daliresp was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment to reduce the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations in patients with severe COPD associated with chronic bronchitis and a history of exacerbations.

1 Mar 2011

PHA partners with NORD, EURORDIS to raise global awareness about PH

Pulmonary hypertension is a rare, under-diagnosed disease that can strike people at any time, affecting newborns to the elderly or anyone in between. To raise global awareness of this invisible disease, the Pulmonary Hypertension Association is partnering with the National Organization for Rare Disorders and Rare Diseases Europe on Feb. 28, 2011, to observe Rare Disease Day.

25 Feb 2011