Free Republic

Researchers have found a promising treatment breakthrough for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that avoids many of the drawbacks of current drugs, and it has come from an unexpected place. Now studies have found that a drug commonly used to treat lung fibrosis could also be ideal for overcoming key problems associated with current treatments for COPD. Dr. Belinda Thomas said the current standard of care for COPD usually includes steroids, drugs which are good at reducing inflammation. However, sudden attacks of COPD (called exacerbations) are usually caused by viruses and steroids encourage their replication, making things worse. Steroids can...

Research led by the Centenary Institute and University of Technology Sydney (UTS) has identified a small RNA molecule called microRNA-21 as a therapeutic target and its inhibition as a potential treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). An inflammatory lung disease that makes it hard to breathe, COPD is often caused by smoking tobacco products or inhaling air pollution. It is the third most common cause of death in the world. In the pre-clinical study, the researchers found elevated levels of microRNA-21 in experimental COPD models involving mice. Use of a microRNA-21 inhibitor (antagomir-21) as a therapeutic treatment was shown...