Think COPDifferently
Although clinical management of COPD has substantially improved in recent years, there are still numerous unmet needs when it comes to managing COPD. Despite advances in therapeutic options, needs have been recognized in areas such as symptom control, prevention of exacerbations and more effective diagnosis and disease prevention.
| Unmet needs of the COPD patient |
| More effective diagnosis and primary prevention |
| Better symptom control |
| Fewer exacerbations |
| Slowing of disease progression |
| Better life expectancy |
| Less systemic disease secondary to COPD and fewer co-morbidities |
| Unmet needs of the medical community |
| Optimizing disease prevention |
| Improving symptom control |
| Preventing exacerbations and decreasing their clinical impact |
| Preventing disease progression |
| Reducing disease-related mortality |
| Identifying systemic effects and co-morbidities |
Table 1: Unmet needs in the management of COPD.1
Adapted from Calverly PMA. Br J Pharmacol 2008;155:487-493. Available at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/121548564/home.
Current therapeutic options are mainly limited to symptomatic treatment, and there is increasing attention being paid to the inflammatory component of COPD in the airways and lung parenchyma. The underlying chronic inflammation plays a central role in the progression of the disease. With a better understanding of this COPD-specific inflammation, we have a fresh opportunity to identify new and different approaches to treatments – thinking COPDifferently.
Reference
- Calverley PMA. COPD: what is the unmet need? Br J Pharmacol 2008;155:487-493.