Evidence that drugs can slow COPD progress

Believe it or not, a couple of the drugs you see advertised on television for asthma are actually being used in combination with other drugs as a deterrent against the slow but deadly progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). My mother had this difficult disease, and we watched as it progressed over the years into emphysema.

The industry-sponsored study refers to positive results with Advair's active ingredient (salmeterol) when combined with fluticasone proprionate--reducing the loss of ability to breathe out over a year. It also gave similar positive ratings to the ingredient in Flonase (fluticasone) combined with another bronchodilator (salmeterol in Serevent).

Significantly, the study indicates that patients must have some kind of treatment and that use of corticosteroids is "unnecessary and inappropriate." Details of the large study (5000-plus patients) here. It will be good to see followup studies that confirm the results but are conducted without the sponsorship of the drug companies.

Update on uninsured America

One-third of uninsured Americans have at least one chronic disease, according to a new report from the Annals of Internal Medicine, including asthma/COPD, diabetes, heart disease, and previous cancer. It refutes suggestions that the uninsured are mainly healthy people not much in need healthcare.

Latest stats are that 43 million Americans are without insurance. The nearly 11 and a half million with chronic diseases and no way to get healthcare are much more likely to "face early disability and death as a result." But researchers say that insurance reform will not be sufficient. That because of budget issues, optimal care is not available even to many of those who have coverage. That if resources flow to organizations that serve many vulnerable patients and quality improvements are made, that alone can "improve outcomes for the uninsured."