Author Archives: Alice Melão, MSc

CSA Medical‘s RejuvenAir System has been granted CE Mark approval in Europe for treating people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have chronic bronchitis — frequent inflammation of the bronchial airways. RejuvenAir is a cryosurgical medical device designed to destroy cells on the surface of the…

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Disease (GOLD) recommends the use of endobronchial valves — such as the Zephyr Valve — for bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR) as a standard treatment for people with emphysema or less severe forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). GOLD considers there…

AlphaID, a cheek swab test that can help identify patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have the disease due to alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD), is now available for use by U.S. physicians and healthcare providers. AATD, which also is known as hereditary pulmonary emphysema, is…

A new public-private initiative brings academic and industry researchers from 15 European countries together in a large-scale effort to understand differences and commonalities in seven immune-mediated and inflammatory diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), so to better predict a patient’s likely response to treatment and likely disease progression. The…

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) often have more acute episodes of symptom worsening (exacerbations) during the coldest months of the year — January, February, and March — resulting in higher hospitalization and mortality rates in the U.S., a study reports. Findings also showed that an intensification of…

Routine evaluation of respiratory function through spirometry after treatment with bronchodilator medicines can help improve diagnosis accuracy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), preventing approximately 39% of overdiagnosis, a new study suggests. Researchers from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine found that using such an assessment…

The Dorney-Koppel Family Charitable Foundation put chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the spotlight, leading the educational grand challenge at the recent Stanford Medicine X | CHANGE 2019 conference. This year’s educational challenge, which lasts until December, will explore and discuss solutions to five critical problems related to chronic…

Long-term use of low-dose macrolide antibiotics is safe and potentially effective in reducing acute exacerbations in younger patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who are at risk for poorer outcomes, a review study suggests. Although this therapeutic regimen was found to be generally well-tolerated, with few side effects,…

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are being asked to participate in a U.K. clinical study evaluating how well bisoprolol, a common beta-blocker to treat high blood pressure, works in preventing pulmonary flares. Known as the BICS trial (2017-002779-24), the study is being supported by the U.K. National Institute for…

Activation of PP2A enzyme with consequent modulation of cathepsin S levels may represent a new strategy to prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a mice study shows. This finding was reported by a team led by researchers from Queen’s University Belfast in a study published in the…