Prevalence and burden of comorbidities in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (FREE FULL TEXT ARTICLE from RESPIRATORY INVESTIGATION 2016)

We are happy to present you article Prevalence and burden of comorbidities in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease from RESPIRATORY INVESTIGATION 2016 which was published today!

The classical definition of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) as a lung condition characterized by irreversible airway obstruction is outdated. The systemic involvement in patients with COPD, as well as the interactions between COPD and its comorbidities, justify the description of chronic systemic inflammatory syndrome. The pathogenesis of COPD is closely linked with aging, as well as with cardiovascular, endocrine, musculoskeletal, renal, and gastrointestinal pathologies, decreasing the quality of life of patients with COPD and, furthermore, complicating the management of the disease. The most frequently described comorbidities include skeletal muscle wasting, cachexia (loss of fat-free mass), lung cancer (small cell or non-small cell), pulmonary hypertension, ischemic heart disease, hyperlipidemia, congestive heart failure, normocytic anemia, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, osteoporosis, obstructive sleep apnea, depression, and arthritis. These complex interactions are based on chronic low-grade systemic inflammation, chronic hypoxia, and multiple common predisposing factors, and are currently under intense research. 

This review article is an overview of the comorbidities of COPD, as well as their interaction and influence on mutual disease progression, prognosis, and quality of life.

Free full text:

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212534516300703

#BreatheBoldly for World COPD Day 2016!

Respiratory Decade is supporting #BreatheBoldly campaign for increasing awareness for COPD!
We challenge you to post a straw selfie on social media to raise awareness and show empathy for the 300 million people with #COPD, because sadly, COPD can feel like breathing through a straw. So, #BreatheBoldly, because even with COPD, there’s always a way to make life better. For more information visit: http://philips.to/2geuzma

New Global Strategy for Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of COPD - 2017 Update (free full text link)

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) works with health care professionals and public health officials around the world to raise awareness of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and to improve prevention and treatment of this lung disease.

Through the development of evidence-based strategy documents for COPD management, and events such as the annual celebration of World COPD Day, GOLD is working to improve the lives of people with COPD in every corner of the globe.

The GOLD report is presented as a “strategy document” for health care professionals to use as a tool to implement effective management programs based on available health care systems.  GOLD has been fortunate to have a network of international distinguished health professionals from multiple disciplines. Many of these experts have initiated investigations of the causes and prevalence of COPD in their countries, and have developed innovative approaches for the dissemination and implementation of the GOLD management strategy. The GOLD initiative will continue to work with National Leaders and other interested health care professionals to bring COPD to the attention of governments, public health officials, health care workers, and the general public to raise awareness of the burden of COPD and to develop programs for early detection, prevention and approaches to management. 

Full text:

http://goldcopd.org/download/326/

World COPD Day 2016: COPD on the rise, but still underrated from BioMed Central’s blog network

To mark World COPD Day 2016 we invited Dr. Alexandru Corlateanu to give us a background on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and how it can be managed. He also tells us about World COPD Day and what its aims are. It also has been highlighted on COPD Research and Practice website!

Read full text blog post: 

http://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-medicine/2016/11/16/copd-on-the-rise-but-still-underrated/

World COPD Day 2016 in Italy

Dear Respiratory Friends!

We are happy to present you Great event dedicated to World COPD Day 2016 organized by World known Italian experts of COPD in Modena at 16 November 2016! 

Read more:

http://goldcopd.it/giornata-mondiale-bpco-2016/

Severe asthma: anti-IgE or anti-IL-5? (full text article from European Clinical Respiratory Journal 2016)

Dear friends please read interesting article: Severe asthma: anti-IgE or anti-IL-5? from European Clinical Respiratory Journal 2016!

Severe asthma is a discrete clinical entity characterised by recurrent exacerbations, reduced quality of life and poor asthma control as ordinary treatment regimens remain inadequate. Difficulty in managing severe asthma derives partly from the multiple existing phenotypes and our inability to recognise them. Though the exact pathogenetic pathway of severe allergic asthma remains unclear, it is known that numerous inflammatory cells and cytokines are involved, and eosinophils represent a key inflammatory cell mediator. Anti-IgE (omalizumab) and anti-IL-5 (mepolizumab) antibodies are biological agents that interfere in different steps of the Th2 inflammatory cascade and are licensed in severe asthma. 

Both exhibit a favourable clinical outcome as they reduce exacerbation rate and improve asthma control and quality of life, while mepolizumab also induces an oral steroid sparing effect. Nevertheless, it is still questionable which agent is more suitable in the management of severe allergic asthma since no comparable studies have been conducted. Omalizumab’s established effectiveness in clinical practice over a long period is complemented by a beneficial effect on airway remodelling process mediated mainly through its impact on eosinophils and other parameters strongly related to eosinophilic inflammation. However, it is possible that mepolizumab through nearly depleting eosinophils could have a similar effect on airway remodelling. Moreover, to date, markers indicative of the patient population responding to each treatment are unavailable although baseline eosinophils and exacerbation rate in the previous year demonstrate a predictive value regarding anti-IL-5 therapy effectiveness. On the other hand, a better therapeutic response for omalizumab has been observed when low forced expiratory volume in 1 sec, high-dose inhaled corticosteroids and increased IgE concentrations are present. Consequently, conclusions are not yet safe to be drawn based on existing knowledge, and additional research is necessary to unravel the remaining issues for the severe asthmatic population.

Read more:

http://www.ecrj.net/index.php/ecrj/article/view/31813