1. Novel approaches to diagnosing www.salwe.fi
chronic airway diseases
Chronic diseases of the airways are some of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality and
their incidence is continuing to rise. Intelligent Monitoring is a SalWe programme aimed at discovering
a new approach to diagnosing these diseases, to replace the highly inadequate methods currently in use.
Research groups at the Universities of Helsinki and Turku are cooperating in the development, along with
industrial partners Orion Diagnostica and Medix Biochemica.
Some 64 million people suffer from chronic obstruc- Need for new methods
tive pulmonary disease and 3 million die of COPD an- At present, chronic airway diseases are generally
nually. Within the next few years, it is expected to diagnosed by measuring lung function, usually by
become the third most common cause of death in spirometry. This way of recording the volume of air
the world. The disease is difficult to identify; in Fin- inspired and expired is time-consuming and difficult
land it is estimated that a third of sufferers have not to perform. Moreover it provides little information
been diagnosed. This is partly because of the lack of about clinical symptoms, prognosis, and responsive-
biomarkers that can identify those at risk and predict ness to treatment or mortality.
disease progression. The results of the research project
could therefore have significant market potential.
SalWe - Strategic Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation in Health and Well-being

2. The Intelligent Monitoring Programme is seeking new, ”One of the most important cohorts that we can use
sensitive and non-invasive combinations of markers consists of sufferers of airway diseases who have pro-
for diagnosing chronic airway diseases and chronic vided regular bio-samples during disease exacerbation
obstructive pulmonary disease. These markers are in- and remittance.”
tended for predicting the progression of the disease,
response to treatment, susceptibility to adverse events, Pioneering research
and to mortality. The latest results indicate that 15 sputum proteins
are altered by smoking and/or mild COPD. All these
Strong skills, large cohorts proteins have been identified. The researchers are now
The University of Helsinki and the University of Turku proceeding to study the incidence of the proteins in
are participating in the research alongside industrial large patient cohorts, using commercially available
partners, Orion Diagnostica and Medix Biochemica. ELISA methods or similar techniques developed by
Orion Diagnostica and Medix Biochemica.
The researchers and their partners have broad experi-
ence and skills in clinical medicine, as well as access ”We are pioneers in research into airway diseases via
to large patient cohorts and the opportunity to model the proteomics of lung tissue and sputum. I believe
disease symptoms. we will find specific markers in respiratory organs and
peripheral blood that predict the advance of hetero-
“We have put together several suitable patient co- genic airway diseases,” Vuokko Kinnula said.
horts, based on different clinical perspectives, and we
also have numerous high-quality bio-specimens of The aim is to combine these markers into a single
sputum, plasma, DNA and lung tissue,” told Professor diagnostic platform or kit.
Vuokko Kinnula of University of Helsinki in the spring
of 2012. She was the former leader of the project.
“For example, we can use a study at Lapland Central
Hospital in Rovaniemi of 600 smokers, whose health
has been regularly monitored since 2005. These in-
dividuals have a high risk of contracting chronic ob-
structive pulmonary disease.” More information
The research group also has access to a cohort of Tarja Laitinen
professor
2,400 COPD and asthma sufferers at the university
University of Turku
hospitals of Helsinki and Turku, which illustrates the tarja.helena.laitinen@tyks.fi
advance of the diseases and the effect of treatments. +358 50 534 6238
Jouko Haapalahti
programme director
Intelligent Monitoring Programme
jouko.haapalahti@salwe.fi
+358 440 419 477
SalWe - Strategic Centre for Science, Technology and Innovation in Health and Well-being