Steve Bryson, PhD,  science writer—

Scientists say the discovery of a triggering enzyme in the lung tissue of people with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) could lead to a new treatment for the inflammatory disorder. Elevated levels of the newly uncovered enzyme, called chymase-1 or CMA-1, were found in tissue isolated from the lungs…

Note: This story was updated June 6, 2022, to note that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has assigned an Investigational New Drug application (IND) number to Therapeutic Solutions International experimental JadiCell therapy. The FDA has not yet approved the company’s IND application. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s review…

Researchers have developed a new genetic tool for predicting the risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in individuals of non-European ancestry. It was found to more effectively determine COPD risk for both African Americans and heavy smokers than existing models that are primarily built on genetic information from…

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded Albany Medical College, in New York, a $2.8 million, five-year grant to study how carbon dioxide and metabolism impact people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). COPD, affecting more than 16.4 million people in the U.S. alone, is a group of…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will allow Sanolla’s VoqX to be used in the clinic, the first stethoscope that can be used to detect infrasounds — acoustic waves that humans cannot hear. The primary care stethoscope — a diagnostic tool clinicians normally use to listen to sounds…

Molecules called stapled peptides blocked the secretion, or release, of mucin proteins from airway cells and lessened mucus buildup in the lungs of mice in a study. According to its researchers, these findings led to the creation of an inhaled aerosol that was tested in the mice and, with further…

ENA Respiratory is developing its first-in-class, broad-spectrum antiviral nasal spray — known as INNA-051 — for populations at risk of developing complications from respiratory viral infections, including COVID-19. Now, the Australian company is teaming up with the COPD Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to improve the…

Animal and human studies highlight the potential of nomacopan, an investigational inhaled medicine to alleviate severe exacerbations caused by inflammatory lung diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Akari Therapeutics, the company developing the therapy, is collaborating with Inhalation Sciences to refine the dosing and pharmacological…

A Chinese remedy called Xuanbai Chengqi decoction, or XBCQ, used to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), modulated immune cells, improved lung function, and reduced lung inflammation by potentially changing the gut microbiome of mice with the disease, a study suggested. “XBCQ could alleviate COPD exacerbations by reshaping the gut…

A hand-held fan blowing air on the face eased breathlessness in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) during short periods of low-intensity walking exercise, a small study reports. “Our positive preliminary findings suggest that fan therapy merits further investigation in larger and more methodologically rigorous studies,” the researchers…