Emphysema screening before symptoms appear being developed by researchers

Emphysema screening before symptoms appear being developed by researchers

Emphysema can be detected earlier with a new blood test being developed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. If validated by larger studies and approved, the new screening method may be included in an individual's annual physical examination.

The development is good news to smokers who are the most afflicted with emphysema, a lung disease that causes shortness of breath, cyanosis, barrel chest and even death.

These symptoms of emphysema, plus x-ray results and pulmonary function tests, are the standard diagnostic procedures. But the new blood test offers the advantage of spotting the disease well before patients experience symptoms.

"We know from other studies that smokers who learn from objective evidence that their health is in danger are much more likely to quit," chief researcher Dr. Ronald G. Crystal said in a news release. "That is the only thing that will help them avoid this deadly disorder."

Dr. Crystal is also division chief of pulmonary and critical care at New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He and his co-authors reported their findings in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine's March 14 issue.

The pair of chronic bronchitis and emphysema are classified under chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.

Measurement of endothelial micro particles, debris created from destruction of air sacs, can be taken by the new blood test.  Researchers said that this test is more specific in detecting early signs than the current lung diffusion testing or DCLO method for emphysema.

Posted by George Daniels on Sunday March 13 2011, 12:16 AM EDT. Ref: Business Week. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0