COPD and Emphysema: Confused by pulmonary function test and more

Rob walker when I get up I need a Xanax n a shot of morphine just to get out of bed

@merry I did meet with Dr Criner at Temple U Lung Center today regarding the Zephyr valves. I was informed that Medicare does cover the cost of the procedure. The process to determine if a person is a good candidate is a bit involved. Based on the first meeting I might be a candidate, now have to go through a long list of tests before there is a final decision.

This procedure is for people with emphysema who have a problem with residual air volume, hyper inflated lungs. It is basically lung volume reduction surgery without the surgery.

@clipper- Excellent news! What a wonderful chance for you to get back into a more comfortable active life! A lot of people will benefit leaning more about the procedure and tests- everything about it!

Hello Clipper@Clipper. I do realize there are no approved treatments or procedures available in the United States for COPD. Many Dr's in America are offering to do these procedures over the border in Mexico and charging $12 to $15 thousand dollars per treatment and claim you will need at least 3 treatments. Many hospitals and Clinics in Mexico are offering Umbilical stem cell treatments in Mexico and other Countries for $3,000 to $5,000 and tell you 1 treatment is sufficienent. There are a lot of fakes out there so I really have to do my homework. Many have gone over the border for hip, knee and shoulder procedures and many have had great success. Not all but just like other treatments not all work for all people.

@justapril Hi, there are approved procedures in the US just not stem cell therapy as of yet. The existing stem cell therapies do not work and because there have been no valid clinical studies the potiential risks are unknown. It is unproven science, people should not be wasting money they need to pay medication that does help.

@clipper- Hello. This is very interesting. Are there studies that you can point me to that indicate that they don't work? I'd love to read more about this procedure.

@merpreb There are no clinical studies, it can’t even get that far but there is early research and they are making progress. There have been a few articles on the topic but no true clinical studies, it’s just not there yet. I have to run now but this afternoon I will dig some of those links and post them.

@clipper- Thank you

@merpreb

I hope my posts weren't too abrupt, I was rushing to get out the door. I also didn't mean to imply it won't ever work, just that the companies selling stem cell therapy today have not undergone robust clinical studies showing it to be effective. All the class action lawsuits against the company selling it in the US would suggest otherwise.If you look at where the real science is today, it is very hard to imagine that anyone has a full blown successful stem cell therapy for lung disease.

I also need to correct something, there are clinical studies underway. There are 39 clinical studies, 14 are active. There are 12 studies that have completed, only two have published results. When results are published, it is usually because they don't have any. One of the two is the Lung Institute, the company that the FDA is trying shut down. The other one was a study done in Brazil and was legit but it was an open, non-randomized study with only 4 patients. It doesn't much look like much came from that.

However there is a lot of valid research going on so it remains hopeful. Here are some useful links I tried to keep it current, nothing older than 2017.

Feb 2018 Researchers have identified a lung stem cell that repairs the organ's gas exchange compartment, according to a new study from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180228131106.htmhttps://copdnewstoday.com/2018/03/06/copd-newly-identified-stem-cells-can-restore-lung-alveoli-mice/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6146161/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5864644/
https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2017/11/researchers-find-lung-stem-cell-heal-lung-injury-in-mice.html
https://www.pulmonologyadvisor.com/home/topics/copd/adipose-tissue-transfer-lung-scaffolds-the-future-of-stem-cells-in-copd/2/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5829274/

I looked into stem cell treatment a while back. My pulmonoligist was definitely not on board. The patient coordinator was pretty helpful. His name was Sal Ingrassia. The lung Institute. I think they have multiple locations.