Patricia Inácio, PhD, science writer —

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is currently the third leading cause of death in the United States. But while significant scientific progress is being made, COPD patients face serious challenges when it comes to treatment access, particularly because  treatments costs are high and hospitals have not yet reached recommended standards for COPD care. The startling opinions,…

During this year’s Respiratory Effectiveness Group (REG) Summit (2016 REG Summit), researchers from around the globe highlighted the urgent need for more research into current therapies for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). According to a news release, this concern is in line with the announcement by members of the…

Researchers discovered that patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) show increased levels of a protein that inhibits the immune system response against several pathogens, thereby increasing their vulnerability to infections. The study, “Osteopontin That Is Elevated in the Airways during COPD Impairs the Antibacterial Activity of Common Innate…

Researchers discovered that the CYLD protein turns off pathogen-induced inflammatory responses mediated by the myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), thereby preventing uncontrolled inflammation from damaging tissues and eventually inducing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The study, titled “Deubiquitinase CYLD acts as a negative regulator for bacterium NTHi-induced inflammation…

In a recent study entitled “DNA damage response at telomeres contributes to lung aging and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” researchers propose that cigarette smoke induces damage to telomeres, and that telomere dysfunction promotes lung impairment and decline in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. The study was…

In a new study entitled “The effect of dietary antioxidant on the COPD risk: the community-based KoGES (Ansan–Anseong) cohort”, the authors report that antioxidant vitamins have a beneficial effect on the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung function. The study was published in the…

In a new study entitled “Defining the Asthma-COPD overlap syndrome in a COPD cohort,” authors show that using clinical asthma features is an effective diagnosis strategy to identify patients with asthma–chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) overlapping syndrome (ACOS). The study was published in the journal…

In a new study entitled “Association of psychological disorders with 30–day readmission rates in patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease,” authors at The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) investigated if psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety or alcohol abuse are associated with an increase in…

In a new study entitled “Mutation in MRPS34 Compromises Protein Synthesis and Causes Mitochondrial Dysfunction,” researchers discovered a mutation in a mitochondrial ribosome that induces mitochondria dysfunction leading to heart hypertrophy and liver steatosis in mice. The study was published in the journal PLOS…

In a new study entitled “Pathogenic mitochondrial mt-tRNAAla variants are uniquely associated with isolated myopathy,” authors report to have identified in two patients with isolated myopathy (a muscular disease characterized by deficient muscle fibers resulting in muscular weakness) two novel variants in the mitochondria DNA, specifically in…