HLF awards major research grant to Charlotte Thålin for COPD inhalation therapy
An estimated 500,000 to 700,000 people in Sweden live with the lung disease COPD. Research is currently being done on developing an inhalation therapy for such patients by examining how antibodies can protect the body from disease-related inflammation and infections. Charlotte Thålin at Karolinska Institutet has now been awarded the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation’s (HLF) major research grant of SEK 20 million for the project.
“COPD is characterised by chronic inflammation and recurring infections of the airways,” says Charlotte Thålin, adjunct professor at KI’s Department of Clinical Sciences at Danderyd Hospital, where she is also senior physician. “Our research shows that protective antibodies play a vital part in inhibiting these processes.”
COPD stands for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and is one of the most serious public health scourges of our time. The chronic inflammation impairs lung function, causing gradually escalating respiratory distress. Having COPD can be likened to breathing through a straw. Some 2,700 individuals die every year with COPD as the underlying cause of death.
Towards a new inhalation medicine
The project has two main aims. The first is to ascertain how the levels and properties of the antibodies differ between healthy individuals and COPD patients.
The second is to then use this knowledge to explore the possibility of developing an antibody-based inhalation medicine able to impede deterioration of the disease by preventing respiratory infections.
A very promising study
The study is very scientifically advanced, and if successful has the potential to deliver important results. If the hypothesis is confirmed, the therapy can prove a significant breakthrough for patients with the disease.
“Our aim is to develop an antibody-based inhalation therapy that can both prevent infection and limit inflammation of the airways and thus the risk that the patient’s COPD will get worse,” says Professor Thålin.
Professor Thålin leads a research group with long, internationally renowned experience in the field.
“This is an innovative project that can potentially change how we understand and treat COPD,” says Kristina Sparreljung, secretary general of the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation. “Research of this kind is essential if we’re one day going to reduce the disease burden.”
This news item is based on a press release from the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation.
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of the most serious public health scourges of our time and is normally caused by inflammation in the smallest airways of the lungs. The chronic inflammation reduces lung function and leads to gradually increasing respiratory distress.
Having severe COPD can be likened to breathing through a straw. Common symptoms are frequent, prolonged infections of the airways, coughing, expectoration of mucus, shortness of breath during physical exertion, severe fatigue and involuntary weight loss.
On average, approximately 42 percent more women than men die with COPD as the underlying cause of death. COPD is an under-diagnosed disease, with over half of sufferers remaining undiagnosed. Co-morbidity with other chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and asthma is common.
Thanks to research into the disease, doctors know more about what causes COPD, which has enabled them to offer patients better lifestyle advice and new therapeutic methods.
Source: The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
The Heart-Lung Foundation at a glance
The Heart-Lung Foundation raises and distributes funds to scientifically selected heart and lung research projects at Sweden’s universities and university hospitals. The organisation is the largest independent funder of heart and lung research and receives applications worth SEK two billion every year. Over the past three years, the annual grant allocation has been close to SEK half a billion.
Source: The Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation