COPD tagged posts

Dinh S Bui et al. Childhood predictors of lung function trajectories and future COPD risk: a prospective cohort study from the first to the sixth decade of life. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, April 5, 2018 DOI: 10.1016/S2213-2600(18)30100-0

3/4 COPD pathways are associated with exposures in childhood, and amplified by factors in adulthood, according to a cohort study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal. While smoking remains the biggest risk factor for COPD, the study demonstrates that childhood illnesses (such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, allergic rhinitis, eczema) and exposures to parental smoking are also linked to the disease.

A second study in the journal also suggests that there could be a window of opportunity during childhood to reduce the risk of poor lung...

Micrograph showing emphysema (left – large empty spaces) and lung tissue with relative preservation of the alveoli (right). Credit: Wikipedia

New research suggests that FPS-ZM1, an antagonist chemical compound that fights RAGE (the receptor for advanced glycation end-products), may treat COPD. In mice it was found this compound reverses the inflammatory response and has a protective role in COPD. “RAGE disturbances in pulmonary disorders are precise and effective strategies with beneficial clinical effects,” said Se-Ran Yang, D.V.M., Ph.D. Kangwon National University, Korea.

In their study, Yang and colleagues investigated the efficacy of RAGE-specific antagonist FPS-ZM1 administration in both in vivo and in vitro COPD models to determine the molecular mechanism by which RAGE influences ...

David Bello, M.D., listens to the heart of a patient at Orlando Health using a new device called HeartBuds, a smartphone and an app. Credit: Orlando Health

“They not only detect sounds inside the body just as well – or better – than traditional stethoscopes, but they are more sanitary,” said David Bello, MD, developer of HeartBuds. “And because they incorporate smartphone technology, we can now record, store and share those sounds as well. This could change the way we approach patient exams in the future.”

The stethoscope was invented in 1816 by French physician René Laennec, and has essentially been unchanged since. But on the eve of its 200th anniversary, the emergence of this new technology could mark the beginning of the end for this medical mainstay.

With HeartBuds, doctors use a sma...