Contact Address
Tel.
+41 44 255 17 12
Research Group Christian Clarenbach
The group conducts several rehabilitation-oriented studies particularly in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). A special focus is directed towards low-load blood-flow-restriction strength training. The group has a strong research collaboration with the institute for nursing sciences evaluating nurse led COPD care and collaborates in projects analysing mucus plugs in COPD with the Harvard Medical School. Christian Clarenbach is co-chair of the international alpha-1 antitrypsin research collaboration (EARCO.org).
Projects
Investigating the Muscular and Cardiorespiratory Benefits of Blood Flow Restriction Training
Our group demonstrated that COPD patients achieved leg-strength improvements comparable to high-load training while reducing perceived breathlessness during sessions. Currently we investigate differences between intermittent vs. continuous application of Blood Flow Restriction in COPD patients in pulmonary rehabilitation.
The role of mucus plugs in COPD
The collaboration between Christian Clarenbach and Sofia K. Mettler (Harvard Medical School / Brigham and Women’s Hospital) focuses on the role of airway mucus plugs in the progression of COPD. In their joint work (co-authored in a study published in the The New England Journal of Medicine), they analysed CT-scans from the large COPDGene Study cohort to categorise patients by the persistence, resolution or new occurrence of mucus plugs over a five-year period.