A scientific team supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has created a preclinical blood test to identify adults most likely to develop severe respiratory conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The blood test analyzes 32 proteins that scientists determined accurately predicted an adult with an increased likelihood for requiring medical care for or dying from severe respiratory illness. The risk score was based on lung health data collected from nearly 2,500 U.S. adults over a 30-year period. The findings were published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
“We are still not ready for this test to be used in practice, but it's a promising advance,” said James P. Kiley, PhD, director of the Division of Lung Diseases at NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), which funded the study. “It consolidates insights from decades of breathing tests and medical evaluations into...