Stephen I. Rennard

TL;DR: Although exacerbations become more frequent and more severe as COPD progresses, the rate at which they occur appears to reflect an independent susceptibility phenotype, which has implications for the targeting of exacerbation-prevention strategies across the spectrum of disease severity.

TL;DR: Treatment with sustained-release bupropion alone or in combination with a nicotine patch resulted in significantly higher long-term rates of smoking cessation than use of either the nicotine patch alone or placebo.

TL;DR: Varenicline was significantly more efficacious than placebo for smoking cessation at all time points and significantly more efficient than sustained-release bupropion SR at the end of 12 weeks of drug treatment and at 24 weeks.

TL;DR: A genome-wide association study in a homogenous case-control cohort from Bergen, Norway and evaluated the top 100 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the family-based International COPD Genetics Network found two SNPs at the α-nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (CHRNA 3/5) locus showed unambiguous replication and were significantly associated with lung function in both the ICGN and Boston Early-Onset COPD populations.

TL;DR: Overall, the results identify a novel systemic inflammatory COPD phenotype that may be the target of specific research and treatment and show associations but do not prove causality.