In this episode, Professor Irene Higginson, Director of Better Health and Care Futures at King’s College London, discusses the complex challenges of managing breathlessness. She explores non-pharmacological strategies, the value of multidisciplinary care, and how the Breathlessness Support Services at KCL are transforming patient support. Tune in for expert insights and a look at future directions in breathlessness research and care.
The BETTER-B study, recently presented at ERS and published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, provided new insights into the management of severe breathlessness in patients with chronic respiratory diseases such as COPD and Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD). Severe breathlessness is a debilitating symptom that significantly impacts the quality of life for millions of people worldwide, yet there are currently no licensed medications to effectively address it outside of Australia. Given the clinical challenges and limited treatment options, clinicians often resort to off-label use of medications like mirtazapine, a widely prescribed antidepressant that appeared promising. Despite its initial promise, the study found that doses ranging from 15 to 45 mg of mirtazapine failed to provide significant relief compared to a placebo. Additionally, the findings highlighted potential adverse effects and increased healthcare costs associated with its use.Â
Approximately half of all smokers will develop chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), with a disease progression over several years before the spirometric threshold for diagnosis is reached.1 There is, therefore, a clear benefit in identifying patients with COPD as early ...
Acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) are the dominant cause of the worsening and high mortality of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and are associated with higher healthcare costs as part of COPD management. AECOPD is characterized by ...
The topic of the carbon footprint of human activities is one frequently discussed worldwide. There have been conscious efforts across multiple fields, including healthcare, to reduce their carbon footprint. In Canada, 4.6% of greenhouse gases (GHG) are manufactured by the healthcare ...
The ENHANCE-1 and ENHANCE-2 trials investigated the efficacy and safety of ensifentrine, a novel PDE3 and PDE4 inhibitor for the treatment of patients with COPD. touchRESPIRATORY were delighted to speak with Prof. Antonio Anzueto (South Texas Veterans Healthcare System, University ...
There is a genuine interest on the part of researchers and the pharmaceutical industry in developing so-called ‘bifunctional’ drugs – that is, single molecules with two different primary pharmacological actions.1,2 In this context, single molecules that are capable of simultaneously inducing ...
Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are disorders with predominantly chronic inflammatory airway features. They are increasingly recognized as entities on a heterogeneous obstructive airway disease continuum with distinct phenotypes, various degrees of overlap, and the predominance of asthma ...
With the advent of newer drugs targeting the biochemical pathways that lead to cough, it is increasingly important to understand the definition, pathogenesis and management of this symptom. Several specialist bodies also recognize the need for guidance in this area, ...
The lack of well-validated biomarkers for monitoring disease activity, predicting future clinical outcomes and the effect of therapeutic interventions highlights the need to find new biomarkers in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In recent years, extensive research has gone into ...
A new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) infection began to disseminate in Wuhan, China in early December 2019 and has rapidly spread to almost every country around the globe, with the number of confirmed cases increasing every day. The disease condition associated with this ...
Take home messages A hallmark of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the occurrence of expiratory flow limitation (EFL) during a forced expiratory manoeuvre at lower expiratory flows compared with healthy subjects. Forced oscillation technique provides an objective, non-invasive measure ...
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is currently the fourth leading cause of death worldwide. In order to minimize the impact of COPD on public health, there is a need for preventative strategies and appropriate methods of management. The Global Initiative ...
Professor Adcock obtained a degree in biochemistry and physiology from the University of London and later completed a PhD in pharmacology from St Thomas’s Hospital, London, on the role of nuclear receptors on sexual dimorphic patterns in the rat. ...
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