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Copd And New Meds
A MyCOPDTeam Member asked a question πŸ’­

i am very concerned about my copd { stage 2 about 54% } because it is a disease that gets worse over time. i have had copd for over 18 years although i was not diagnosed until about 2007. i am 61 years old now. occasionally i have to do things in real dusty areas. however i wear a real good mask when around dust . i don't smoke any more and exercise most days and take my meds as i should, i was just thinking are there any new meds or promising treatments for copd coming on… read more

posted December 4, 2021
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A MyCOPDTeam Member

Perry, There a a few good sites to follow the current research trends for this disease. We don't have access to any Scholarly sources so I can only rely on what makes it to Google. Some say I over-think IT too much and that's OK too. Keeps from worrying about the stuff we can't change.
Anyway, my take is that CoVD19 is even teaching the Experts new tricks about what Respiratory ailments really involve. They are quicky learning about these genetic "receptors" in the Lungs and other parts of the body where the disease(s) attack. This causes the body to flare-up and try to defend against itself. Eventually the medicines are tweaked to control those reactions so then some relief can be found. But the lung damage has already been done and we have to live our Best with that.

posted December 4, 2021
A MyCOPDTeam Member

There actually is a fair amount of research going on with COPD. Good sources of information include the American Lung Association, the COPD Foundation, the National Institutes of Health especially the Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the Department of Defense Research and if you want to know what clinical trials are being done around the country, go to www.clinicaltrials.gov and search under COPD and other suggested topics.

COVID certainly has sparked an interest in many respiratory areas that may have implications for COPD. It's going to be interesting to see how many people who are long-haulers will be treated and what the long-term trajectory will be, but I'm certain that much of the research will have outcomes that will be important to COPD and other lung diseases. Much of this current research is at the cellular level as Rolland described it, so it's a long way from something useful in humans.

There is some interesting research going on that is focusing on changing the actual physical structure of the lungs and bronchioles through some sort of intervention, such as electricity, steam and direct application of some medication. I think this area of research may have some promise, as it would make permanent changes and if they work, could provide significant relief from symptoms.

I'm not aware of research for medications that are new that are anywhere near being available. There is interest in some molecules that were not pursued by pharma because they seemed to work for only some people; not the general COPD population. The COPD Foundation is looking at both molecules and devices in that category. They hope to form partnerships to research these further in hopes of getting them to market quicker. Remember, meds only treat symptoms; they don't fix anything! The COPD Gene Study is closing in on nearly 15 years and is providing much needed information regarding pheno and genotypes. So there's lots going on.....just not enough and not quick enough.

BTW, I've had COPD since 1985 and have lived quite well with it for over 30 years. Daily exercise, diet and weight control, getting your vaccines when appropriate, taking your meds, avoiding people with bugs and getting medical attention as soon as you develop something respiratory are the keys to maintaining where you are. You can't avoid the loss of lung function associated with age, but you can maintain your FEV1 percentage and that's really the goal.

In that regard, I've been stable in the mid-30s since 2000. Exercise is probably the key thing in that list, but they're all important. The most important thing is to avoid getting really sick because that's when you can do more damage to the lungs and you can't recover from that. So have a good action plan developed with your doc and pay attention to yourself every day. We can't afford to "tough it out"; that's an invitation to an ICU bed.

posted December 4, 2021
A MyCOPDTeam Member

thanks for all the answers . i know we are all worried about our health, however as said the damage is done but i don't want to give up on life so i will keep trying to maintain my health . its a shame that i could not have tried to save and protect my health while i was younger . thanks to all of you . i really learn a lot from this site and i am so glad to be able to correspond with knowledgeable people like you all

posted December 4, 2021

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