The Current Molecular and Cellular Landscape of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD): A Review of Therapies and Efforts towards Personalized Treatment.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) ranks as the third leading cause of global illness and mortality. It is commonly triggered by exposure to respiratory irritants like cigarette smoke or biofuel pollutants. This multifaceted condition manifests through an array of symptoms and lung irregularities, characterized by chronic inflammation and reduced lung function. Present therapies primarily rely on maintenance medications to alleviate symptoms, but fall short in impeding disease advancement. COPD's diverse nature, influenced by various phenotypes, complicates diagnosis, necessitating precise molecular characterization. Omics-driven methodologies, including biomarker identification and therapeutic target exploration, offer a promising avenue for addressing COPD's complexity. This analysis underscores the critical necessity of improving molecular profiling to deepen our comprehension of COPD and identify potential therapeutic targets. Moreover, it advocates for tailoring treatment strategies to individual phenotypes. Through comprehensive exploration-based molecular characterization and the adoption of personalized methodologies, innovative treatments may emerge that are capable of altering the trajectory of COPD, instilling optimism for efficacious disease-modifying interventions.

Australian childcare centres are too close to car parks exposing children with developing lungs to high levels of traffic pollution.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the co-location of childcare centres and their outdoor play spaces with car parks in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia. METHODS: The co-location of childcare centre outdoor play spaces and car parks was examined through measurement of horizontal and vertical distances using Google Earth Pro satellite imagery. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-two childcare centres were studied in Melbourne, with 133 accompanying car parks identified. Eighty-one (57.0%) centres had a significant size car park within 150 m and 43.7% had a car park within 100 m. Twenty car parks (15.0%) were found within 10 metres of childcare centres, of which 12 (9.0%) had more than 100 spaces. Twenty centres were examined in Sydney, with 31 associated car parks identified. Eighteen childcare centres (90.0%) had car parks within 150 m and 17 (85.0%) had car parks within 100 m. CONCLUSION: Australian childcare centres are located too close to car parks exposing children to pollution and likely impacting the development of chronic respiratory disease. Traffic pollution is an avoidable risk that must be considered when planning childcare centre location. Implications for public health: The co-location of childcare centres with large-scale car parks may have long-term impacts on the respiratory health of Australian children under the age of five.