Respiratory Research Bulletin

A new trial led by University of Otago Professor Dr Sue Crengle, along with the Waitematā DHB, will test more than 500 people who are most at risk of lung cancer.

The purpose of the trial will be to determine who in this group has COPD. COPD is more common amongst the Māori community than other ethnic groups, and has historically been severely underdiagnosed and undertreated.

Those participating in the trial will take part in low-dose CT scans to detect any abnormalities and, with consent, will be assessed for COPD by blowing into a spirometer device to test their lung capacity. The aim is to assess who has the disease in the hope of making sure it’s treated properly, and outcomes are improved.

The trial will investigate ways to improve the number of diagnoses for COPD and ways to reduce the rate of hospitalisations amongst Māori communities.

Kiwi scientists make major tuberculosis breakthrough

Tuberculosis (TB) is a deadly lung disease that is still one of the world’s biggest killers. A team of scientists from the University of Otago have made a huge breakthrough that could lead to its elimination.

Professor Kurt Krause and Professor Greg Cook are part of an international collaboration with Nobel Prize winner Professor Hartmut Michel, of Germany’s Max Planck Institute of Biophysics.

Together, they have determined the atomic structure of a protein called bd oxidase. The bd oxidase protein lives in the cell membrane of the TB bacterium, and helps it breathe in the low oxygen conditions that occur in infected lungs. Knowing the structure of the protein will speed up the process of designing and discovering small molecules to block bd oxidase function and rapidly kill TB germs.

This breakthrough will serve as an important template for producing fast-acting TB drugs. A rapid cure could lead to world-wide elimination, which would have an enormous health impact.

Family violence increases asthma risk

Researchers at Australia’s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute have found that exposure to family violence greatly increases children’s risk of being diagnosed with asthma. The decade-long study tracked over 1,500 Victorian mothers, who were questioned in the first, fourth and tenth years of their child’s life.

Exposure to violence in the first four years of life was found to put children at three times higher risk of developing asthma and language difficulties before the age of 10.

The researchers say the findings highlight the urgency of effective intervention, with health outcomes for children greatly improving when they received support early or were taken out of a family violence situation before they turned five.