Enid Neptune, MD

Despite the huge disease burden of COPD reflected in health care costs, lost productivity and reduced quality of life, the treatment pipeline of new and effective drugs is distressingly anemic. In the recently completed Losartan Effects on Emphysema Progression (LEEP) trial, investigators determined whether a highly utilized blood pressure drug, Losartan, could improve emphysema and lung function. Although this trial did not find that Losartan improved emphysema and lung function overall, data suggested that certain groups might show responsiveness to this drug. We will examine blood proteins to see if we can identify predictors of responsiveness to this drug and possibly drug class. These studies can help guide future studies of similar agents for COPD.