American Lung Association Research in North Dakota

(February 22, 2012)—

The American Lung Association strongly supports research to prevent and reduce the exacerbation of lung disease through an improvement in diagnosis, treatments and discovery of cures.  Our American Lung Association Nationwide Research program is comprised of three units:

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  • Awards and Grants Program – Funds researchers dedicated to supporting our mission of eliminating tobacco related diseases, reducing the burden of lung disease and improving the quality of our air. 
  • Asthma Clinical Research Centers Network (ACRC) – Nation’s largest not-for-profit network of clinical research centers dedicated to asthma treatment research.
  • Epidemiology & Statistics Program – Monitors trends in lung disease and behavioral risk factors and release the findings in data-rich reports.

Since 1915, our researchers have made significant milestones in the fight against lung disease. As such, premature babies are less likely to die from respiratory distress syndrome; TB rates are at an all-time low; and young and old with chronic lung diseases are benefitting from improved treatment options such as lung transplantation, oxygen therapy and genetically-based medicines.

In January, the ACRC found that a common practice of prescribing acid controllers to children with poorly treated asthma does not improve or control asthma symptoms. These prescriptions could lead to harmful side effects such as upper respiratory infections. 

Epidemiology & Statistics

The Epidemiology & Statistics component of the American Lung Association Research unit recently released a report about the prevalence and incidence of lung disease in each state. This research found that over 13 percent of people in North Dakota suffer from at least one form of lung disease such as asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema or lung cancer. About 6.8 percent of those people are adults with asthma.

While there is no cure for asthma, the Asthma Clinical Research Center is currently examining the effectiveness of soy isoflavones as a treatment for people with poorly controlled asthma and we are hopeful of its potential.

The American Lung Association will continue to fund research to reduce the burden of lung disease, find new treatments, and one day, a cure.

For more information on the American Lung Association’s research projects, click here.