Doctors target deadly lung disease

Australian doctors are pioneering a new test to help detect and treat one of the world’s biggest killers – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Australian doctors are pioneering a new test to help detect and treat one of the world’s biggest killers – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).The lung disease is caused by smoking cigarettes, and the main symptom is shortness of breath.Associate Professor Gary Anderson, from the Cooperative Research Centre for Chronic Inflammatory Diseases, says COPD is the third most common cause of death worldwide.”COPD is a lung disease where the small airways become thick and the lung structure is destroyed,” he said.By the time most patients are diagnosed, they have lost as much as 50 per cent of their lung capacity.Doctors usually use a machine that measures lung function but it cannot predict whether treatments will work.A new test, developed by researchers at Sydney’s Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, can accurately measure how congested a patient’s airways are and whether the COPD medication is working.”Not only can we track their improvement over time but we can predict their improvement before we even start using the treatment long term,” said Professor Norbert Berend, Woolcock Institute director.Denis Hession has been battling severe COPD for 15 years, after smoking all his adult life.”I was a reasonably energetic person most of my life involved in sports, that was the first thing I noticed. Even walking was restrictive,” he said.So far 300,000 Australians have been diagnosed with COPD but doctors estimate there are a further 700,000 who do not know they have the condition.Melbourne researchers are working on a genetic test to see who is most likely to develop the disease.”This is quite important as in the future we may be able to warn people early or intervene more vigorously to stop COPD and stop smoking,” Associate Professor Gary Anderson says.Doctors say smokers with a chronic cough or breathlessness should have their lung function tested.(Source: ABC Health, July 2004)