COPD

lungs
February 16, 2022

Multicenter team seeks to create at-home artificial lung system

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is part of a multi-institutional teem seeking to create an artificial lung system that patients with incurable lung disease can use at home.

By Matt Batcheldor
January 11, 2022

New Clinician Spotlight: Michael Lester

Michael Lester, MD, has joined Vanderbilt University Medical Center after completing seven years of internship, residency and fellowship here.

By VUMC News and Communications
A new medical device called the Zephyr Valve offers a minimally invasive alternative to lung surgery for emphysema patients.
February 4, 2021

Device offers less invasive option to treat emphysema

Life with emphysema, a lung condition that causes shortness of breath, can be miserable. People with advanced emphysema, a form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are so short of breath they may need supplemental oxygen just to walk from room to room. They often have trouble with everyday tasks like bathing or cooking a meal.

By Nancy Humphrey
Andy Bolden, second from right, is Vanderbilt Transplant Center’s 500th lung transplant patient. Here, he’s with, from left, Matthew Bacchetta, MD, Eric Lambright, MD, and Ivan Robbins, MD.
January 31, 2019

Transplant Center reaches lung transplant milestone

Alabama resident Andy Bolden spent much of the last five years on the couch, having difficulty doing something many people take for granted — breathing.

By Matt Batcheldor
September 15, 2016

Grant spurs study of novel imaging technique for COPD

Vanderbilt researchers have received an R01 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study a novel non-invasive imaging approach to detect activation of inflammatory cells in the lungs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a progressive lung condition that makes breathing difficult.

By Kathy Whitney
April 28, 2016

Study links COPD with increased bacterial invasion

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common smoking-related lung illness and the third leading cause of death in the United States. Scientists have long believed that inhaling toxic gases and particles from tobacco smoke causes inflammation of the small airways in the lungs, leading to the development of COPD.

By VUMC News and Communications