December 2024
Updates on COPDGene Study
Dr. Casaburi and Dr. Abbasi traveled to Denver, CO, in November to attend the COPDGene investigator’s meeting. Researchers collaborate from sites across the country as part of the groundbreaking COPDGene study. With a cohort of over 10,000 individuals, COPDGene is one of the largest and most comprehensive studies ever conducted on COPD, examining the genetic, environmental, and demographic factors that contribute to the disease. This study seeks to answer a vital question: why do only about 25% of smokers develop COPD, despite a similar smoke exposure? Now in its 16th year, COPDGene has collected over 40,000 chest CT scans, providing unparalleled insights into disease progression and subtypes of COPD. The Respiratory Research Center at the Lundquist Institute plays a crucial role in this effort, ranking as the #2 site among 19 sites across the nation in study visits, just behind the main sponsor. This meeting highlighted our continued commitment to advancing research that may one day lead to novel therapies to prevent and treat this debilitating disease.
New Publication in Long COVID
Our research fellow, Dr. Chiara Gattoni, and colleagues recently authored a study exploring the effects of post-exertional malaise (PEM) in Long COVID patients, a condition often compared to other post-viral syndromes like myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). In ME/CFS, reduced performance on the second day of a two-day cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) is believed to indicate PEM. To investigate this in Long COVID, we assessed 15 men and women (average age 53 years) using a two-day CPET protocol and pulmonary function tests. While 80% of participants reported PEM symptoms over the past six months, lung function was normal, and exercise capacity was normal in 60% of participants (the other 40% had low exercise capacity assessed by CPET). However, the study no significant differences in exercise capacity or ratings of leg fatigue or breathlessness between exercise on the two test days. This suggests that PEM in Long COVID patients is not related to impairments in exercise capacity or slow recovery from a prior exercise test per se. Further study is needed to discover the mechanisms associated with PEM in Long COVID patients.
RRC Member of the Month
December’s RRC Member of the month is Lizette Trujillo! Lizette was born in Torrance and has lived in the South Bay her entire life. She has attended CAL State Long Beach, Los Angeles Harbor College, Trinity Vocational Nursing School and AUMT Institute. Lizette found her passion for research when she was first a volunteer at The Lundquist Institute (formerly LA BioMed) in 1999! She’s worked on research projects in Cardiology, Trama, Limb Salvage and Emergency Medicine before joining the team here at the Respiratory Research Center. As a Clinical Research Coordinator, Lizette enjoys both the direct patient care as well as the relationships that she gets to build with our investigators, doctors, and sponsors. She also enjoys the various moving parts involved in each individual study and understands it takes a great team to successfully start and move a study forward to the end. Lizette feels truly thankful for the work she gets to accomplish and those she get to do it with. Outside of work, you can find we spending time with her family and three kids, Nicholas, Violet and Kayla.
World COPD Day
Our team at proudly joined the global celebration of World COPD Day by participating in The Big Baton Pass, a day-long livestream event uniting research organizations, rehabilitation centers, and COPD non-profits worldwide. This inspiring event saw 24 hours of continuous events around the world, highlighting lung-friendly exercises and sharing of impactful stories to elevate awareness and encourage participation in COPD initiatives. The Respiratory Research Center presented data from our research and included messages from our current and former trainees from around the globe – including from Italy, Brazil, Iran and Albania. The event was a meaningful opportunity to connect with the global COPD community and amplify awareness for this important cause!
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