Rochester Business Journal
January 29, 2015
A University of Rochester Medical Center research team could be on track to develop the first treatment capable of reversing lung damage caused by smoking.
The URMC team has scored a $1.6 million National Institutes of Health grant to fund an expanded study of what members believe could be the first therapy capable of halting or even reversing smoking related lung damage.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a condition often traceable to smoking, is the third leading cause of death in the United States. Current therapies can relieve COPD symptoms but none can halt or cure the condition.
The team is led by Richard Phipps, director of the lung biology and disease program at the School of Medicine and Dentistry, and Patricia Sime M.D., chief of pulmonary diseases and critical care at Strong Memorial Hospital.
The object of the team’s research is a group of compounds derived from omega-3 fatty acids called pro-resolving lipid mediators. Early results show promise that such compounds have anti-inflammatory effects on human lung cells and can stop cigarette smoke-induced lung damage.
The NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Institute grant will fund a four-year study to further investigate possible benefits of such compounds, officials said. Early studies have shown the class of compounds to have beneficial effects. The investigators hope to determine which are most effective.
“These exciting new compounds have the potential to be one of the first-ever disease modifying therapies against smoking-induced inflammatory lung disease,” Phipps said.
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