In 2011, the Food & Drug Administration ordered post-market safety trials to be conducted on combination long-acting beta agonist (LABA) and inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) inhalers. This review was prompted by the discovery that using LABA inhalers alone resulted in an increased risk of asthma-related death. LABAs are medications that relax the muscles of the airways so they … Read more
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) glycopyrrolate in nebulizer form for treatment of COPD. This is the first time a LAMA medication will be available via nebulizer. According to a recent article in Chest Physician, the online newspaper of the American College of Chest Physicians, nebulized glycopyrrolate “has specifically been … Read more
A Federal Court has ordered Altria, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Philip Morris USA to publicly tell the truth about their highly addictive product. According to a press release from the American Thoracic Society, “[t]he court-ordered publication of ‘corrective statements’ by major U.S. tobacco companies…should serve as a reminder that tobacco addiction remains a major health problem … Read more
The US Capitol was the site of a Congressional briefing on COPD on Wednesday, November 15th. The expert panel featured Dr. Gary Gibbons, the Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Dr. David Mannino, Dr. Jerry Krishnan, and Grace Anne Dorney Koppel, President of the Dorney Koppel Foundation and COPD Patient Advocate. The … Read more
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease will be front and center on two upcoming nationally televised morning shows. Hosted by veteran journalist Ted Koppel, CBS Sunday Morning will air a 12-minute segment on COPD on Sunday, November 26th. The program will air at 9:00 am eastern time. This is not just another news story for Koppel, but a very … Read more
Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a common, highly contagious virus that is particularly harmful in infants and very young children and the elderly, especially those with chronic lung disease. Read about RSV on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website here: Respiratory Syncytial Virus Protect Against Respiratory Syncytial Virus
November is COPD Awareness Month, and it is a good time to also be aware of a virus that can be very serious for patients with Chronic Obstructive Disease. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is a common respiratory virus that most people associate with infants and young children. But RSV is also frequently associated with acute respiratory illness … Read more
The U.S. COPD Coalition (USCC) held its Fall 2017 Virtual Member Meeting & Webinar on Wednesday, October 25th. The keynote speaker was Susan Jacobs, RN. MSN from Stanford University. Susan spoke about the results of an important survey that was conducted to identify oxygen access issues across the spectrum of chronic lung disease. The meeting also featured … Read more
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), part of the National Institutes of Health, has launched Know the Science, an initiative aiming to clarify and explain scientific topics related to health research. The NCCIH notes that “there is a lot of misinformation out there—from anecdotes disguised as evidence to excessive claims made by … Read more
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), part of the National Institutes of Health, has recently launched a new initiative called Know The Science that is designed to help consumers understand scientific topics related to health research. The Know The Science website notes that given the large amount of misinformation that consumers are bombarded with … Read more