FA took part in the last Satellite Precision Medicine training, organised by the European Respiratory Society (ERS) to deliver free cutting-edge education using live-streaming technology. This one day event focused on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and was organised in four venues across Europe last February 21st.
EFA took part in the last Satellite Precision Medicine training, organised by the European Respiratory Society (ERS) to deliver free cutting-edge education using live-streaming technology. This one day event focused on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and was organised in four venues across Europe last February 21st.
The topic selected for the ERS Satellite has been “Advances in precision medicine in COPD and interstitial lung disease (ILD)”. Due to the complexity of lung diseases, the importance of tailoring medical treatment to the individual characteristics of each patient is highly recognised.
Speakers addressed therapies and trajectories of COPD
During the event, speakers from London, Athens, Warsaw and Lisbon described how to treat COPD endotypes, how to define the optimal pharmacological therapy for the right patient, when to treat airway infection in COPD and how to choose a rehabilitation regime.
When talking about different trajectories of COPD development, Prof. Alvar Agusti stressed the need to move away from the traditional COPD paradigm of a self-inflicted disease caused by tobacco smoking, which leads to progressive decline in lung functions.
There is evidence that some patients with COPD have not smoked in their life and that some who did, do not inevitably report lower lung function when ageing. In addition, many other factors need to be taken into account to understand the trajectories of COPD, from exposure to external factors, to genetics, to childhood and even parents’ behaviours before conception.
To know more about these latest advances you can watch the video from the ERS Satellite here.