Epigenetic and current treatment approaches in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has become a global epidemic and is the third leading cause of death worldwide. COPD is characterized by chronic airway inflammation, loss of alveolar-capillary units, and progressive decline in lung function. Major risk factors for COPD are cigarette smoking and aging. COPD-associated pathomechanisms include multiple aging pathways such as telomere attrition, epigenetic alterations, altered nutrient sensing, mitochondrial dysfunction, cell senescence, stem cell exhaustion and chronic inflammation. In this review, we will highlight the current literature that focuses on the role of age and aging-associated signaling pathways as well as their impact on current treatment strategies in the pathogenesis of COPD. Furthermore, we will discuss established and experimental COPD treatments including senolytic and anti-aging therapies and their potential use as novel treatment strategies in COPD.

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Treatment Persistence and Compliance with Medications for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Canadian Respiratory Journal ◽

10.1155/2007/161652 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

pp. 25-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

Joyce A Cramer ◽

Carole Bradley-Kennedy ◽

Alissa Scalera

Keyword(s):

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

Pulmonary Disease ◽

Current Treatment ◽

Beta Agonist ◽

Drug Benefit ◽

Chronic Obstructive ◽

Treatment Persistence ◽

Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

Alternative Medications ◽

Inhaled Medication

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Inhaled beta-agonist, anticholinergic and glucocorticoid medications are used to treat asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The present study assessed the patterns of persistence with the above mentioned inhaled medications.METHODS: Prescription claims data from the Ontario Drug Benefit Program were analyzed to assess persistence (time to discontinuation) and compliance (percentage of days with doses available divided by days to last refill) of patients prescribed inhaled medications. Patients were grouped as naive (no inhaled medication in the previous year) or experienced (previous or current treatment), and by age (18 to 65 years of age and older than 65 years of age). Medications included ipratropium, ipratropium plus salbutamol, formoterol, formoterol plus budesonide, salmeterol, salmeterol plus fluticasone, and tiotropium.RESULTS: The database included 31,368 patients (4888 naive and 26,480 experienced) who were prescribed at least one of these medications. Fifteen per cent to 63% of patients continued on the index drug for more than six months, which decreased to 7% to 53% at 12 months, and 5% to 47% at 18 months. At 12 months, patients taking tiotropium had significantly longer persistence compared with other therapies (53% versus 7% to 30%; all P<0.0001), and fewer switches to alternative medications. Most naive patients had significantly shorter treatment persistence than experienced patients for all drugs (all P<0.0001), including tiotropium (27% versus 55%, P<0.0001). Compliance rates were similar for all drugs (ie, 76% to 94%) but were highest for tiotropium.CONCLUSIONS: These data demonstrated that persistence with inhaled treatment was low overall, but patients treated with tiotropium remained on therapy significantly longer than when treated with other medications, and patients naive to inhaled treatment had shorter treatment persistence than experienced patients.

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Oral and Oropharyngeal Sensory Function in Adults With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology ◽

10.1044/2019_ajslp-19-00095 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 29 (2) ◽

pp. 864-872

Author(s):

Fernanda Borowsky da Rosa ◽

Adriane Schmidt Pasqualoto ◽

Catriona M. Steele ◽

Renata Mancopes

Keyword(s):

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

Oral Cavity ◽

Pulmonary Disease ◽

Thermal Sensation ◽

Sensory Function ◽

Control Group ◽

Chronic Obstructive ◽

Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

Age Related ◽

Copd Patients

Introduction The oral cavity and pharynx have a rich sensory system composed of specialized receptors. The integrity of oropharyngeal sensation is thought to be fundamental for safe and efficient swallowing. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients are at risk for oropharyngeal sensory impairment due to frequent use of inhaled medications and comorbidities including gastroesophageal reflux disease. Objective This study aimed to describe and compare oral and oropharyngeal sensory function measured using noninstrumental clinical methods in adults with COPD and healthy controls. Method Participants included 27 adults (18 men, nine women) with a diagnosis of COPD and a mean age of 66.56 years ( SD = 8.68). The control group comprised 11 healthy adults (five men, six women) with a mean age of 60.09 years ( SD = 11.57). Spirometry measures confirmed reduced functional expiratory volumes (% predicted) in the COPD patients compared to the control participants. All participants completed a case history interview and underwent clinical evaluation of oral and oropharyngeal sensation by a speech-language pathologist. The sensory evaluation explored the detection of tactile and temperature stimuli delivered by cotton swab to six locations in the oral cavity and two in the oropharynx as well as identification of the taste of stimuli administered in 5-ml boluses to the mouth. Analyses explored the frequencies of accurate responses regarding stimulus location, temperature and taste between groups, and between age groups (“≤ 65 years” and “> 65 years”) within the COPD cohort. Results We found significantly higher frequencies of reported use of inhaled medications ( p < .001) and xerostomia ( p = .003) in the COPD cohort. Oral cavity thermal sensation ( p = .009) was reduced in the COPD participants, and a significant age-related decline in gustatory sensation was found in the COPD group ( p = .018). Conclusion This study found that most of the measures of oral and oropharyngeal sensation remained intact in the COPD group. Oral thermal sensation was impaired in individuals with COPD, and reduced gustatory sensation was observed in the older COPD participants. Possible links between these results and the use of inhaled medication by individuals with COPD are discussed.

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