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Study Finds Improved Way to Treat COPD

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This is the VOA Special English Health Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglishChronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, is a life-threatening condition commonly caused by years of smoking. Doctors say that over time the damage interferes with the natural exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lungs. COPD is not curable but treatment can extend a patient's life.Doctors often treat it with steroids. Now, a study shows that low doses of the medicine given by mouth are equal to, or better than, a heavy dose administered into the blood.Researchers studied patients treated at four hundred hospitals in two thousand six and two thousand seven. The patients received steroids either intravenously or by mouth. The study found that those who received lower doses of steroids by mouth spent less time in the hospital. Also, their risk of side effects such as glaucoma, high blood pressure and edema, or swelling in the legs, was reduced. Peter Lindenauer from TuftsUniversity School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, led the study. The findings are in the Journal of the American Medical Association.The World Health Organization estimates that more than two hundred million people have been found to have COPD. Most live in low and middle income countries. COPD blocks airflow in the lungs. Patients have to think about their breathing. They also have to exercise. And they have to learn to calm themselves, especially when they are short of breath. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, as well as asthmatic bronchitis. One sign of it is a wheezing sound when the person breathes. Another symptom is a cough that produces yellow mucus and does not go away. Miners and chemical workers are at risk of COPD from breathing dust and harmful chemicals. But the most common cause is long-term smoking or years of breathing other people's smoke. Francis Welch is a retired dentist, former smoker and now a COPD patient. He stopped smoking more than ten years ago. He also persuaded his son to stop. Mr. Welch says his son quit smoking when he saw his father walking around with a can of liquid oxygen.And that's the VOA Special English Health Report. You can comment on this report at our website, voaspecialenglish.com. You can also get transcripts, MP3s and archives of our reports.

(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 23Jun2010)
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