New emphysema treatment

New emphysema treatment

Emphysema, a disease that destroys air sacs in lungs, made it difficult for Linda Sachs to breathe, which impacted her career at a radio station.

However, a new treatment from the University of Pittsburgh could help people regain lung function, including Sachs.

Dr. Frank Sciurba at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is testing a new minimally-invasive procedure that inserts 10 small coils into damaged areas of a patient's lung. The coils expand the healthier section of the lung and help patients breathe more easily.

"This is a trial I'm real hopeful for because I really would like to have a tool that I can offer our more advanced patients," Dr. Sciurba said.

Sachs said she felt better immediately after receiving the treatment.

The study is still recruiting patients, and the closest local site is at the Franciscan Research Center in Tacoma. You can view the recruiting locations on clinicaltrials.gov.

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Emphysema: Stopping Progression and Reversing Damage

Information provided by Boston University Medical Center - Published: 2012-09-01
BUSM researchers find potential key to halt progression, reverse damage from emphysema - A study led by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has shown that a compound used in some skin creams may halt the progression of emphysema and reverse some of the damage caused by the disease. When the compound Gly-His-Lys (GHK) was applied to lung cells from patients with emphysema, normal gene activity in altered cells was restored and damaged aspects of cellular function were repaired.


The study, which is published in BioMed Central's open access journal Genome Medicine, also demonstrates the potential impact of using genomic technologies to identify new possible treatments for diseases using existing drugs and compounds.


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Citation: Disabled World News (2012-09-01) - Research finds compound used in some skin creams may halt the progression of emphysema and reverse damage caused by the disease: http://www.disabled-world.com/health/respiratory/emphysema.php#ixzz25X95BQ17