Agrella Chance
Why do some smokers develop lung disease and not others?
How effective is supplemental oxygen therapy in treating patients with emphysema?
Those are the kinds of questions you can help find answers for. You see, the University of Michigan Health System (U-M) is looking for hundreds of participants for two new multi-center research studies (clinical investigations) that can help improve diagnosis and treatment for millions of people affected by emphysema, chronic bronchitis and other lung diseases.
For one study, referred to as COPDGeneTM, the University of Michigan is looking for both current or former smokers – with and without COPD – between the ages of 45 and 80 to uncover the inherited factors that make some people develop COPD. U-M also needs hundreds of participants with COPD over the age of 40 for the Long-term Oxygen Treatment Trial (LOTT), which will study the effect of continuous (24-hour) supplement oxygen therapy on patients with COPD.
U-M is one of 21 leading medical centers participating in the study, which will enroll more than 12,000 people across the United States.
COPDGeneTM is one of the first COPD studies to include a large percentage of African American participants.
“Unlocking the keys to the genetic disposition of COPD and the efficacy of oxygen therapy can go far in making life better for the millions affected by COPD.”
Fernando J. Martinez, M.D., M.S., director of Pulmonary Diagnostic Services, professor of internal medicine and principal investigator for both clinical trials.
According to the NHLBI, COPD is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and causes serious long-term disability.
LOTT is funded by the National Hearth, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.??
COPDGeneTM is funded by the NHLBI and National Jewish Health.
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