British Pigeon Fanciers Medical Research Team update

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British Pigeon Fanciers Medical Research Team update

The British Pigeon Fanciers Medical Research Team attended the RPRA Show of the Year in Blackpool Winter Gardens on the 18th-19th January.

Our team of doctors from Leicester and Dundee Universities, NHS Tayside, Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board, Newcastle NHS Trust, and Barts and the London, along with medical students from the University of Dundee Medical school, were met with enthusiasm and engagement from those who attended our research stand in the Olympia Hall. We are grateful to those who attended to ask questions of the doctors, and take part in the research, and also to the RPRA for their ongoing generous support of our work.

We are pleased to announce that at this visit we reached 531 participants in the British Pigeon Fanciers Genetics of Interstitial Lung Disease (BPF GILD) study. Reaching this number of people in the project means that we can now close the study to new participants. We expect to be able to report on the genetic results to the Fancy later this year.

As the BPF GILD project has reached its target we are working on the required permissions for the next research project that fanciers can help with. This project is called ‘Better tests for Interstitial Lung Disease’ and will assess blood and breathing tests for their ability to detect lung changes. The aim will be to find a test that can accurately tell a doctor whether a patient has a cough or breathlessness due to changes within the deep substance of their lungs, or due to something else such as asthma or COPD. The project will thoroughly assess these tests, with the long term aim being that the best ones would then be used by GPs and specialist doctors to more accurately diagnose chest conditions that can mimic Pigeon Lung.  

Thanks again for your strong engagement with the work we do. We look forward to seeing you all next year at the 50th Anniversary show!

Yours sincerely

Drs Phil Lynch and Mark Spears
British Pigeon Fanciers Medical Research.

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