COPD News

November 20, 2024

Top Headlines

Researchers Develop Robotic Sensory Cilia That Monitor Internal Biomarkers to Detect and Assess Airway Diseases

Nov. 7, 2024 — Mechanical engineers have developed a system of artificial cilia capable of monitoring mucus conditions in human airways to better detect infection, airway obstruction, or the severity of diseases ...

Experimental Blood Test Predicts Risk for Developing COPD, Other Severe Respiratory Diseases

Sep. 10, 2024 — A scientific team has created a preclinical blood test to identify adults most likely to develop severe respiratory conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The blood test ...

Mucus-Based Bio-Ink Could Be Used to Print and Grow Lung Tissue

July 30, 2024 — Lung diseases kill millions of people around the world each year. Treatment options are limited, and animal models for studying these illnesses and experimental medications are inadequate. Now, researchers describe their success in creating a ...

New Insights on Polymicrobial Infections in Chronic Lung Diseases

June 11, 2024 — Chronic lung diseases are often accelerated and exacerbated by polymicrobial infections. An international study has identified two types of these so-called dysbioses in cystic fibrosis. They display distinct ecology and are also likely to respond ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:43pm EST

Engineers Design Lookalike Drug Carrier to Evade Lung's Lines of Defense

Aug. 22, 2024 — Managing hard-to-treat respiratory illnesses like asthma and pulmonary fibrosis just got easier if a new drug-carrying molecule is as sneaky as its inventors ...

COPD and BPD: Inhalation of Live Lactobacilli Lessens Lung Inflammation and Improves Lung Function

Aug. 21, 2024 — In preclinical models, the inhalation of a mixture of living Lactobacilli bacteria attenuated pulmonary inflammation and improved lung function and ...

Second Phase 3 Clinical Trial Again Shows Dupilumab Lessens Disease in COPD Patients With Type 2 Inflammation

May 20, 2024 — Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with type 2 inflammation may soon gain access to a new drug -- dupilumab -- that showed rapid and ...

Discovery Into How Chronic Lung Conditions Affect Children's Immune System

Apr. 4, 2024 — Researchers have made a breakthrough into how two chronic respiratory diseases in childhood affect the immune system, paving the way for better ...

How Gum Disease Aggravates Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Jan. 14, 2024 — A new study shows how periodontitis, an oral disease, activates immune cells associated with aggravated progression of ...

Healthy Omega-3 Fats May Slow Deadly Pulmonary Fibrosis

Jan. 2, 2024 — Higher levels of omega-3, the healthy fat found in fish and nuts, were associated with better lung function and longer transplant-free ...

Triple Combination Therapy Brings Lasting Improvement in Cystic Fibrosis

July 7, 2023 — The mucus in the airways is not as sticky, inflammation in the lungs significantly reduced: Triple combination therapy can achieve these positive, lasting effects in patients with cystic fibrosis ...

Innovative Breathing Aid Developed

Mar. 10, 2023 — One in 10 adults suffer from the debilitating effects of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Research around a new breathing device developed by pulmonologists offers promise for improving ...

Spatial Lung Cell Atlas Offers Insights Into Disease and Immune Function

Dec. 21, 2022 — Researchers have genetically profiled nearly 200,000 cells from lungs, mapping their precise locations in tissue to discover an unexpected new immune niche in our ...

Household Air Cleaners Improve Heart Health Among Individuals With COPD, Researchers Find

Dec. 5, 2022 — A six-month study oncludes that the use of portable home air purifiers can improve some markers of cardiovascular health in people with chronic ...

New Study on Morphine Treatment in People With COPD and Severe, Long Term Breathlessness

Nov. 23, 2022 — Sometimes healthcare professionals treat patients with opioids such as morphine to relieve symptoms, but there has been a lack of evidence as to whether this helps with severe chronic breathlessness. ...

Emphysema More Common in Marijuana Smokers Than Cigarette Smokers

Nov. 15, 2022 — Airway inflammation and emphysema are more common in marijuana smokers than cigarette smokers, according to a new study. Researchers said the difference may be due to the way that marijuana is smoked ...

Bronchodilators Don't Improve Smoking-Related Respiratory Symptoms in People Without COPD

Sep. 5, 2022 — Researchers have found that dual bronchodilators -- long-lasting inhalers that relax the airways and make it easier to breathe -- do little to help people who do not have chronic obstructive ...

Smaller Airways Increase COPD Risk for Women

Aug. 2, 2022 — Structural differences in lung airways between men and woman may be the cause of differences in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) prevalence and outcomes between the sexes. According to a ...

Researchers Identify Protein Connected to Aging and Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

July 25, 2022 — Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an aging-associated disease caused by progressive scarring of the lungs, leading to respiratory failure and death. Therapies to treat IPF are limited, making ...

Children Who Had Bronchitis Linked to Adult Lung Problem

June 21, 2022 — Study into the consequences of childhood infection finds Australian children who had bronchitis at least once before the age of seven were more likely to have lung problems in later ...

Stopping Lung Damage Before It Turns Deadly

May 9, 2022 — New research shows that hypoxia can activate the same group of immune cells that cause inflammation during asthma ...

Emphysema Severity Associated With Higher Lung Cancer Risk

May 3, 2022 — CT-detected emphysema is linked to a higher risk of lung cancer, a risk that increases with emphysema severity, according to a new ...

New Tool Better Predicts COPD Risk for People of Non-European Ancestry

May 3, 2022 — Initial tests of a new 'crystal ball' for COPD revealed that it is better at predicting risk for both African-Americans and heavy smokers than existing ...

New Cell Type in Human Lung Has Regenerative Properties

Apr. 1, 2022 — A new type of cell that resides deep within human lungs and may play a key role in human lung diseases has been ...

Why Are People With Allergic Asthma Less Susceptible to Severe COVID?

Mar. 30, 2022 — Scientists show how cells packed with SARS-CoV-2 detach from the upper airway and spread deep into lungs where severe COVID can take root. They also discovered how an asthmatic reaction to allergens ...

Genetic Risk for Asthma Comes from Changes in Airway Cells, Study Finds

Mar. 28, 2022 — A significant amount of genetic risk for asthma is likely mediated through altered gene expression within the airway epithelium. That is the conclusion of a new study to identify genetic variants ...

Study Finds Complex Relationships Between Bacteria and Markers of Lower Airway Infection and Inflammation in Cystic Fibrosis

Mar. 23, 2022 — The lower airways of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) have unique biochemical features that correlate with the complex communities of lung bacteria typical of this disease, according to a ...

Novel Therapy Could Help People With Asthma, COPD, Cystic Fibrosis and Cancer-Related Lung Disease

Mar. 23, 2022 — Scientists have developed a drug to treat the uncontrolled secretion of mucins in the airways, which causes potentially life-threatening symptoms in millions of Americans with lung ...

'Long COVID' Linked to Lasting Airways Disease

Mar. 15, 2022 — Disease of the small airways in the lungs is a potential long-lasting effect of COVID-19, according to a new study. The study found that small airways disease occurred independently of initial ...

Obesity May Lead to a Decline in Lung Function in Premenopausal and Postmenopausal Women

Feb. 23, 2022 — Obesity has been linked to a wide array of health problems. A new study suggests that abdominal obesity as measured by body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, may result in a greater risk of ...

Altered Gene Expression and Cell Interactions Involved in COPD

Jan. 27, 2022 — A team of researchers has identified previously unrecognized changes in gene expression and cellular interactions in distinct cell populations in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ...

Simple Screening for Common Lung Disease Could Relieve Millions Globally

Jan. 11, 2022 — The global burden of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), a group of common lung conditions that affects more than 300 million people, could be significantly reduced with a simple health ...

Study Questions Widely Used Race-Based Formula to Define Lung Disease

Dec. 16, 2021 — New results from a long-term epidemiologic study reveal that one of the oldest racially based diagnostic formulas in medicine is no better than a race-neutral ...