News

Air pollution can increase the risk of emphysema among people who have never smoked, a recent study has found. The study, titled “Association Between Long-term Exposure to Ambient Air Pollution and Change in Quantitatively Assessed Emphysema and Lung Function,” was published in the Journal of the…

Olympus‘ Spiration Valve System (SVS), a device that can be inserted into a patient’s airways to redirect air from diseased regions of the lungs and toward its healthier parts, improves respiration in people with severe emphysema, a clinical trial found. Its results were reported in the study, “…

Verona Pharma released additional results of a Phase 2 trial demonstrating that maintenance treatment with its dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulation of ensifentrine (RPL554) is safe, and significantly improves lung function in people with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The trial met all its primary…

Only a year ago, Florence Attaway — for decades a half-pack-a-day smoker — struggled to walk even one city block. “I had to take a taxi from my home one block to the hospital because I could hardly breathe,” said the 83-year-old New Yorker, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary…

Note: This is the third article in a series written in collaboration with respiratory therapist Mark W. Mangus Sr., RRT, RPFT, FAARC, and oxygen expert Ryan Diesem. This segment also includes contributions from Donna Frownfelter, PT, DPT, MA, CCS, RRT, FCCP, and Marion Mackles, PT, BS, LMT. The first two…

Having good heart and lung fitness in middle age reduces a person’s risk of developing, or dying, from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study shows. The results were published in the journal Thorax, in an article titled, “Midlife cardiorespiratory fitness and the long-term risk…

The drugstore company Walgreens has expanded its Find Care program to include chronic care management for people with diabetes, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The expansion will include partnerships with device manufacturers to give patients access to tools that will help them better monitor their…

Viral respiratory infections, like those caused by a cold or flu, may particularly aggravate symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to early data from a clinical trial testing the safety and effectiveness of SNG001, an inhaled interferon-beta therapy by Synairgen. These latest preliminary findings in the…

The overall efficacy and safety profile of erdosteine is superior to other commonly used mucolytic agents for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a new study shows. The study, “Efficacy and safety profile of mucolytic/antioxidant agents in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a comparative analysis across…

Australian researcher David Geoffrey Chapman has been awarded $100,000 by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Foundation and ResMed to investigate how non-invasive ventilation can help improve sleep patterns in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) overlap syndrome. Dr. Chapman, BSc, PhD,…