Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease News and Research

Latest Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease News and Research

Combination inhaler might simplify asthma treatment

People suffering from chronic asthma might have a new treatment option that allows them to manage their condition with a single prescribed inhaler that contains two medicines, according to a new review.

14 Apr 2009

Tobacco and marijuana increase risk of respiratory symptoms and COPD

Smoking both tobacco and marijuana increases the risk of respiratory symptoms and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), found a study in CMAJ.

13 Apr 2009

Cigarette smoke changes the immune response to bacteria - culprit behind COPD exacerbations

Smoking cigarettes is not only the principle cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but it may change the body's immune responses to bacteria that commonly cause exacerbations of the disease, according to new research in a mouse model.

8 Apr 2009

Smokers with serious illnesses need additional help to quit, study says

Individuals with serious illnesses - including cancer, heart disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - make up a disproportionately high segment of current smokers and are also among the most addicted to tobacco use.

8 Apr 2009

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-related problems hard to swallow

Patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exhibit a disordered breathing-swallowing pattern that may account for their higher risk of aspiration pneumonia, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh.

29 Mar 2009

Mutations in a gene may stunt lung development in children

Mutations in a gene may cause poor lung development in children, making them more vulnerable to diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) later in life, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the German Research Center for Environmental Health.

29 Mar 2009

Orexo reports on efficacy study in allergic rhinitis with OX914

Orexo has reported clinical results from an experimental phase IIa safety and efficacy study in allergic rhinitis with OX914, the first compound in its Phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) inhibitor program.

24 Mar 2009

Giving up smoking before surgery decreases complications

More than a third of patients who took part in an eight-week smoking cessation programme before and after planned surgery were able to give up and most of them were still smoke free after a year, according to research in the March issue of Anaesthesia.

12 Mar 2009

Smokers' chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk is genetic

It's well known that puffing on cigarettes can eventually leave you out of puff.

11 Mar 2009

Many terminally ill patients feel abandoned by their doctors

Terminally ill patients and their family caregivers often feel abandoned by their doctors and feel a sense of "unfinished business with them, according to a new study by an oncologist at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

10 Mar 2009

Helium/oxygen mix helps lung patients breathe easier

New research published in the international journal Chest , by Neil Eves, PhD, finds that people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who breathed a mix of 60% helium and 40% oxygen during a rehabilitation program were able to exercise longer and harder than those who breathed normal air.

10 Mar 2009

Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables may protect against asthma, allergic rhinitis and COPD

Here's another reason to eat your broccoli: UCLA researchers report that a naturally occurring compound found in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables may help protect against respiratory inflammation that causes conditions like asthma, allergic rhinitis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

2 Mar 2009

Scientists develop general-purpose method for detecting trace chemicals

Described in an advance, online publication of the journal Nature Biotechnology on February 22, 2009, the team's general method could be adapted for detecting a wide variety of compounds, including many that are relevant to diagnostic medicine and environmental work.

26 Feb 2009

Aton Pharma acquires Timoptic product line from Merck & Co

Aton Pharma, Inc., a diversified specialty pharmaceutical company, today announced it has acquired the U.S. marketing rights to the Timoptic product line from Merck & Co., Inc. Timoptic (timolol maleate) is a non-selective beta-adrenergic receptor blocking agent indicated for the treatment of elevated intraocular pressure in patients with ocular hypertension or open-angle glaucoma.

25 Feb 2009

Vitamin D may help fight common colds

Vitamin D may be an important way to arm the immune system against disorders like the common cold, report investigators from the University of Colorado Denver (UC Denver) School of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Children's Hospital Boston.

23 Feb 2009

Long-term use of inhaled corticosteroid drugs increases risk of pneumonia for COPD patients

Newly published research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine finds that a popular class of anti-inflammatory inhalers significantly increases the risk of pneumonia in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

9 Feb 2009

Body's defenses may worsen chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder

Although the immune system is designed to protect the body from harm, it may actually worsen one of the most difficult-to-treat respiratory diseases: chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), according to new University of Cincinnati (UC) research.

9 Feb 2009

Research looks at smokeless tobacco products

Each year, two thirds of smokers in the US say they want to quit smoking but less than 3% of those who try to quit are successful.

5 Feb 2009

Top hospitals have 27 percent lower mortality: Annual HealthGrades study

Medicare patients treated at top-rated hospitals nationwide across the most common Medicare diagnoses and procedures are 27 percent less likely to die, on average, than those admitted to all other hospitals, according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization.

29 Jan 2009

Too much weight loss can be a bad thing

Doctors are not doing enough to pick up on problems with excessive weight loss, says a Saint Louis University physician who helped draft recent guidelines to diagnose the condition called "cachexia" (kuh-kex-ee-uh).

21 Jan 2009