Emphysema Patients Sought For Lung Study, USA

Main Category: Respiratory / Asthma
Also Included In: MRI / PET / Ultrasound
Article Date: 14 Jan 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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Henry Ford Hospital is seeking patients for a new treatment option that shows promise for regrowing lung tissue in emphysema patients.

Emphysema, a debilitating lung disease caused in large part by years of smoking, is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Patients suffer from shortness of breath, coughing and limited exertion because their lungs are less elastic than healthy ones, cutting off oxygen to the bloodstream.

Several treatment options exist to relieve and prevent complications, including lung volume reduction surgery and transplantation.

"This is the first emphysema study that will use computed tomography (CT) scans as well as standard lung function tests to measure participants' lung function," says Paul Kvale, a Henry Ford pulmonologist and lead study investigator. "CT scans can assess the extent of tissue damage in the lungs and whether the study drug is making a difference."

Eligible participants in the two-year study will be randomly selected to receive either a placebo or gamma-specific retinoid agonist, a new drug that in earlier studies has shown to effectively regrow lung tissue.

The study is open to former smokers who:

- Have not smoked for the past year.
- Were diagnosed with emphysema.
- Are 45 years old and older.
- Have a history of smoking more than 10 packs of cigarettes a year.

Eligible participants will receive medication, undergo various testing procedures and make 15 office visits - all for free - during the study's duration.

For further information please go to: http://www.henryford.com
Or contact David Olejarz on dolejar1@hfhs.org

Source:
http://www.blockimaging.com