Simple List of Seven Predictors Helps screen Patients at Risk of COPD

A clinical trial that tested a simple seven-item list of predictive factors finds it is an effective screening tool for helping doctors identify patients at risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease - a progressive lung disease where it becomes hard to breathe. The screening tool works even when patients are not experiencing symptoms.

The trial, which took place in primary care settings in four Latin American countries: Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, and Uruguay, is part of the Prevalence Study and Regular Practice, Diagnosis and Treatment (PUMA) study and is reported in the journal Respirology.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive disease that makes it hard to breathe. As symptoms progress, patients experience wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and they cough up large amounts of mucus.

The leading cause of COPD is smoking - most people with COPD are smokers or ex-smokers. However, long-term exposure to other lung irritants - such as chemical fumes, air pollution, dust, and smoke from woodstoves or cookstoves (biomass smoke) - also raise the risk of COPD.

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Source: medicalnewstoday

Islet transplantation, blood sugar and type 1 diabetes

New clinical trial results show that transplantation of pancreatic islets--cell clusters that contain insulin-producing cells--prevents severe, potentially life-threatening drops in blood sugar in people with type 1 diabetes. Researchers found that the treatment was effective for people who experienced episodes of severe hypoglycemia--low blood sugar levels that can lead to seizures, loss of consciousness and death--despite receiving expert care.

The Phase 3 trial was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), both part of the National Institutes of Health, and was conducted by the NIH-sponsored Clinical Islet Transplantation (CIT) Consortium. The investigators designed the study in consultation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to enable potential future licensure of the manufacture of purified human pancreatic islets. The results appear online today in Diabetes Care.

"The findings suggest that for people who continue to have life-altering severe hypoglycemia despite optimal medical management, islet transplantation offers a potentially lifesaving treatment that in the majority of cases eliminates severe hypoglycemic events while conferring excellent control of blood sugar," said NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D.

Read more: Islet transplantation, blood sugar and type 1 diabetes

Transplantation of pancreatic islets--cell clusters that contain insulin-producing cells--prevents severe,
potentially life-threatening drops in blood sugar in people with type 1 diabetes, according to new research

Source: ibreakstock/Fotolia

Clinical Trial Risks

Clinical trials are research studies designed to answer a specific question which would then serve to improve current medical care. These studies focus on which medical treatment works best for a specific population of people with a certain disease. Usually a clinical trial is developed after there is some pre-clinical success or promising results in studies done in the laboratory.

Clinical trials are usually categorized as phase I, phase II or phase III. Phase I studies are done very early in drug development and usually focus on patient safety and trying to find the right dose that is tolerable. Later-phase studies tend to be more disease-specific and may compare an investigational treatment approach to the standard of care to see if there is any benefit with the new treatment.

Each clinical trial has its own inclusion and exclusion criteria. This helps make sure there is uniformity within the trial and that there are no outside factors which could influence the outcome of the study. Clinical trials help improve medical care and are necessary when seeking FDA approval for use within the general population.

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Clinical Trial Risks

Source: wtop.com