News

Plain tobacco packaging could reduce the appeal of smoking, decreasing the alarming rate of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the Cochrane Review. The article, “Tobacco packaging design for reducing tobacco use,” was published in Cochrane Library. Cochrane is a non-profit that organizes medical research information…

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who also have non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease (NTM-PD) are more likely to be hospitalized and die, according to a German study that urges improved care for this particular disease. The study,“Burden of non-tuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease in Germany,” appeared in the European…

Treatment with a triple combo therapy in a single inhaler decreased exacerbation rates in COPD patients compared with tiotropium treatment, according to the results of a clinical trial. The triple combo is composed of beclometasone dipropionate (BDP), formoterol fumarate (FF), and glycopyrronium bromide (GB) — BDP/FF/GB. This combination has been shown…

Monitored Therapeutics received a 510(k) clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its GoSpiro Home Spirometer, the first specifically developed as a home-use device for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). “The GoSpiro’s 510(k) marks a critical milestone towards completing our system to…

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchiectasis (BE) have more bacterial lung infections, and infections that last longer, than COPD patients without bronchiectasis, a study indicates. Thee findings may explain why BE aggravates COPD, the researchers said. The study, “Exacerbations in COPD Patients with Bronchiectasis,” was…

HealthFactors and Koronis Biomedical Technologies are partnering on developing equipment to help people with respiratory conditions associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and cystic fibrosis. The collaboration is aimed at creating smart inhaler devices that are so effective and easy to use that they become part of mainstream…

Duke University and Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals will collaborate on a different kind of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease study over the next five years. Instead of obtaining information from medical records and tests, researchers will obtain it from talking with each of the 850 patients in the study every six months. The goal…

Ventec Life Systems announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given 510(k) clearance to the company’s VOCSN life support device, which combines five respiratory therapies into one portable unit. VOCSN incorporates a critical care ventilator, a 6 l/min portable oxygen concentrator, a touch-button cough assist, a hospital-grade suction system, and…

U.S. pharmacies have begun carrying the Utibron Neohaler treatment-dispensing device as a long-term maintenance treatment for airflow obstruction in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Sunovion Pharmaceuticals announced. The powder that the device dispenses, which is a combination of  indacaterol and glycopyrrolate, is aimed at preventing bronchospasms in people with COPD.

To shine a light on the link between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and depression, the Lung Institute is starting an initiative to help combat depression in COPD patients. It will kick off on World Health Day, April 7. The initiative will seek to decrease the prevalence of depression…