Researchers At Peoria Pulmonary Associates To Study Airway Bypass Procedure For Emphysema

Main Category: COPD
Article Date: 29 Jan 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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Researchers at Peoria Pulmonary Associates announced the start of the EASE (Exhale Airway Stents for Emphysema) Trial, an international, multi-center clinical trial to explore an investigational procedure for advanced widespread emphysema/COPD. Conducted at Methodist Medical Center, the study focuses on a procedure called airway bypass. Airway bypass is a bronchoscopic procedure designed to reduce lung hyperinflation and shortness of breath (the clinical hallmarks of emphysema/COPD) by making new pathways for trapped air to exit the lungs.

During the airway bypass procedure, new openings are created in the airway wall connecting the damaged lung tissue to the natural airway. These pathways are supported and kept open by Exhale® Drug-Eluting Stents -- manufactured by Broncus Technologies, Inc.

"Patients with severe emphysema often live in poor physical condition, struggling with each breath," states William P Tillis, MD, Principal Investigator of the study at Peoria Pulmonary Associates. "A goal of this study is to see if, by reducing hyperinflation and improving lung function with the airway bypass procedure, these patients may breathe easier and have a better quality of life."

Emphysema, a component of COPD, is a chronic, progressive, and irreversible lung disease characterized by the destruction of lung tissue. The loss of the lungs' natural elasticity and the collapse of airways in the lung combine to make exhalation ineffective, leaving emphysema sufferers with hyperinflation because they are unable to get air out of their lungs. Breathing becomes inefficient and patients have to work very hard just to breathe -- making normal activities, like walking, eating or even bathing, difficult. There are few treatment options for most patients with emphysema and there is no cure.

Physicians commonly use bronchoscopes to examine the airways within the lungs. During the airway bypass procedure physicians will first use a Doppler probe inserted through the bronchoscope to identify a site in the airway that is away from blood vessels. A special needle is then used to make a small opening and an Exhale® Drug-Eluting Stent is placed in the passageway to keep it open. The procedure involves placing up to six drug-eluting stents. The total time of the procedure is approximately one to two hours.

This procedure is still under clinical investigation, and results from the open-label Exhale Drug-Eluting Stent feasibility study were published in the October issue of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Positive results in that study included a statistically significant reduction in the amount of air trapped in the lungs and an improvement in breathing for patients at six months after the airway bypass procedure.

Peoria Pulmonary Associates is currently recruiting patients for the EASE Trial. Involvement in the study will last from approximately 15 months up to 5 years (depending on whether the patient is randomized to the control or the treatment group) and include 8 to 16 physician appointments. All study-related medical procedures will be carried out at no charge to the patient and patients will be closely monitored throughout the trial. Participants will also receive at least 14 weeks of pulmonary rehabilitation therapy. If you or someone you know over the age of 35 has been diagnosed with advanced widespread emphysema and no longer smoke (or would be willing to stop smoking two months prior to the study), you may qualify to participate in this study.

http://www.EASEtrialUS.com

About Broncus Technologies, Inc.

Broncus Technologies, Inc. is helping people breathe easier by developing bronchoscopic interventions for the treatment of chronic lung diseases. Founded in 1997, Broncus Technologies has developed the Exhale® Drug-Eluting Stent for use in the airway bypass procedure, a minimally-invasive procedure to treat emphysema. Airway bypass creates new pathways in the lung for air to escape and may potentially improve the breathing abilities of patients with emphysema. Broncus Technologies is currently conducting the pivotal EASE Trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of airway bypass in the treatment of advanced widespread emphysema.

Broncus Technologies, Inc.