LA BioMed One Of The Sites For The Nation's Largest Lung Disease Study - Research Seeks Genetic Cause Of COPD

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Article Date: 13 May 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) is recruiting volunteers to participate in the nation's largest study ever on respiratory disease, COPDGeneTM, a $37 million, five-year genetic epidemiology research program seeking to understand why some smokers develop lung disease and others do not.

LA BioMed is one of several sites around the country participating in the study. Altogether, the various sites will enroll 10,500 volunteers in the search for the inherited factors that make some people more likely to develop Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder, or COPD. This disorder impairs breathing and includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Some 24 million people in the U.S. suffer from COPD. It is the nation's fourth leading cause of adult death and causes serious long-term disability.

Scientists already have proven cigarette smoking causes the vast majority of COPD cases, but they don't understand why only roughly 25% of smokers develop the disorder. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health is funding this study to determine the genetic basis for COPD.

"Finding the genetic basis for COPD could lead to much more focused treatments for COPD and, perhaps one day, a method for avoiding this devastating lung disease," said Richard Casaburi, Ph.D., M.D., the LA BioMed chief investigator who is conducting the study at the institute. "Avoiding tobacco smoke is the best way to avoid lung disorders, but additional research is urgently needed for the millions of Americans who already suffer from COPD."

LA BioMed is seeking volunteers who smoke or have smoked and are between 45 and 80 years of age. The study takes four to five hours over a one- to two-day time period. Volunteers will provide a sample of blood, fill out a questionnaire, undergo a CT chest scan and blow into a machine that measures lung function. Participants will receive $80 for their time.

About LA BioMed

Founded 56 years ago, LA BioMed is one of the country's largest, not-for-profit independent biomedical research institutes. It conducts biomedical research, trains young scientists and provides community services, including childhood immunization, nutrition assistance and anti-gang violence programs. The institute's researchers conduct studies in such areas as cardio-vascular disease, emerging infections, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, dermatology, reproductive health, vaccine development, respiratory disorders, inherited illnesses and neonatology.

LA BioMed is an independent institute that is academically affiliated with the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. The institute is located on the campus of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center near Torrance.

It contributes to Los Angeles County's economic viability while inventing the future of health care through its ground-breaking research, its training of the scientists of tomorrow and its service to the local community.

LA BioMed