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Introduction

University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska; Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa; and Fazakerle Hospital, Aintree Chest Center, Liverpool, United Kingdom

Correspondence and requests for reprints should be addressed to Stephen I. Rennard, M.D., University of Nebraska Medical Center, 985885 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska 68198-5885. E-mail: srennard{at}unmc.edu

Translational medicine has become a buzzword. Roughly speaking, it is the discipline designed to bridge the gap between basic science and clinical applications. Translational medicine, therefore, attempts to apply the fruits of basic science advances to improve the care of patients. The bridging, of course, can go in both directions. Thus, translational medicine can also help inform basic scientists to prioritize directions for research.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a disorder of high prevalence and great unmet medical need. COPD is currently the fourth leading cause of death and will be the third leading cause of death by 2020. Currently available therapies, although extremely helpful, primarily provide supportive care and symptom relief by relaxation of airway smooth muscle tone and improving airflow, which is most commonly assessed as the FEV₁. The limited therapeutic options for patients with COPD are, to a very large extent, the direct consequence of the prominence of FEV₁ as a clinical outcome in COPD. Of course, FEV₁ deserves to be an important outcome measure; it is the parameter that defines both the presence and the severity of COPD. It has become abundantly clear, however, that FEV₁ only partially measures the clinical scenario in COPD. As a result, additional outcome measures are required. Such measures are, moreover, urgently needed if advances in basic mechanisms are to be translated into novel therapies for patients with COPD.

The Fifth Annual Lund COPD Conference, "Linking Outcome and Pathobiology in COPD," was conceived to address these issues. The three sessions addressed "Priority Outcomes in COPD," "Pathophysiology Leading to Priority Outcomes," and "Therapeutic Interventions and Their Effects on Priority Outcomes." The symposium also featured a keynote address highlighting health economic aspects of COPD. The presentations given at the symposium addressing these topics form the basis for the reviews that follow. They highlight an important and evolving area in COPD research. Specifically, advances in applied clinical medicine are absolutely essential to effectively develop and utilize novel therapies.

The Lund COPD Symposia are sponsored by AstraZeneca, and the subject of the current symposium is undoubtedly of great interest to the company. As with previous symposia, however, the intent was not to pursue a commercial agenda but rather to address scientific issues. As co-chairs of the symposia, we accept full responsibility for the content. We fully acknowledge and greatly appreciate the support of AstraZeneca that made the symposium possible. We believe it was a highly informative meeting addressing a timely and important topic, which we hope will be of interest to readers of the following reviews.

FOOTNOTES

Conflict of Interest Statement: S.I.R. has participated as a speaker in scientific meetings and courses under the sponsorship of AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline. He serves on advisory boards for Altana, Dey, and Inspire. He has conducted clinical trials for AstraZeneca, Centocor, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Roche, and Sanofi. He has served as a consultant for AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Pfizer, and Roche. A patent is pending on the use of PDE4 inhibitors in repair; S.I.R. is a co-inventor of the patent, which is owned by the University of Nebraska Medical Center. P.M.A.C. has received funding for consultancy services and honoraria for speaking at conferences organized by AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and Boehringer Ingelheim. He has served on advisory boards for GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, and Altana. E.D.B. has received honoraria for speaking at scientific meetings and courses organized and financed by AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, and GlaxoSmithKline. He has served on advisory boards for AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Hoffman le Roche, and GlaxoSmithKline. He performed consultancy services for AstraZeneca, Aventis, Altana, GlaxoSmithKline, Hoffman le Roche, and Kyowa Hakko.

(Received in original form December 27, 2005; accepted in final form December 28, 2005)

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Rennard, S. I. Articles by Bateman, E. D. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Rennard, S. I. Articles by Bateman, E. D.