Diseases & Conditions
Ask the doctor: Are there new treatments for COPD?
Q. My husband was just diagnosed with COPD. Are there any new treatments he can get for it?
A. There are some relatively new treatments for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but (as is often the case) the older, "tried-and-true" drugs may be more important in your husband's treatment. Ask your doctor about one relatively new treatment, an inhaled medicine called indacaterol (Arcapta) that acts rapidly and lasts a long time. It helps keep the breathing tubes open, making breathing easier. Another new medicine, taken as a pill, is called roflumilast (Daliresp). When taken in combination with other asthma medicines, it seems to reduce the number of flare-ups and improve lung function.
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