Chronic respiratory diseases can change how people breathe, move and manage everyday activities. For patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a flare-up may develop over hours or days, sometimes leading to an emergency visit or hospital admission. Interstitial lung diseases present a different challenge. In these conditions, damage and scarring in lung tissue can gradually restrict breathing, and progression rates vary from patient to patient. Doctors need more than occasional clinic measurements to understand these changes. Home monitoring, clinical trials and biological markers offer ways to gather information between appointments and investigate why patients respond differently to treatment.
Yuben Moodley’s clinical and research work has addressed several of these questions. A consultant respiratory physician at Fiona Stanley Hospital in Western Australia and Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Western Australia (UWA), Moodley has worked on COPD monitoring, cellular therapies and research into interstitial lung disease. His projects include a mobile-health system developed with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and clinical research examining mesenchymal stromal cells in people with COPD.
One challenge in COPD care is recognizing an exacerbation before symptoms become severe enough to require hospital treatment. Patients may notice increasing breathlessness, changes in sputum or worsening cough, but clinicians cannot always observe these changes as they happen. A system that sends symptom reports and vital signs to a care team could help clinicians identify deterioration sooner and decide whether intervention is needed. This practical question drove M-COPD, a mobile-health platform developed by researchers at CSIRO’s Australian e-Health Research Center, including Moodley. The project explored whether mobile devices and remote clinical oversight could support managing COPD at home.
The system combined a mobile interface for patients with a web portal for clinicians. Patients recorded symptoms and measurements, including breathlessness, sputum color and volume, cough, wheezing, heart rate and body temperature. The information was transmitted to a care team, which could review changes and provide clinical advice or intervention. The approach was intended to add a layer of monitoring between scheduled appointments rather than replace respiratory assessment. It also relied on patients entering information regularly, making usability and continued participation important parts of the model. The early work described the system’s technical design and its potential role in home-based COPD management.
A six-month feasibility study published in the Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare in April 2014 examined M-COPD in patients with a history of moderate acute exacerbations. Eight participants, with a mean age of 65, completed the study. During the trial, they experienced 10 exacerbations, all of which were treated at home. Scores for major symptoms, including breathlessness and sputum changes, rose before an exacerbation and fell significantly within two weeks of intervention. The researchers also reported fewer hospital admissions, emergency department presentations and general practitioner visits than during a matched six-month period in the preceding year.
The results offered early evidence that symptom tracking could help clinicians respond to changes in a patient’s condition without automatically relying on hospital care. However, the study was small and did not show that the system would produce the same outcomes in a larger population. Its findings were a feasibility signal rather than proof of broad effectiveness. The work also highlighted an ongoing issue in digital respiratory care: collecting information is only one part of the process. Clinical teams must interpret the readings, contact patients when necessary, and provide timely treatment.
A separate line of Moodley’s research has examined mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), which have been studied for their possible effects on inflammation and tissue repair. COPD involves persistent airway inflammation and can affect the body beyond the lungs. Researchers have investigated whether MSCs might change inflammatory responses or improve physical function in some patients. This work includes clinical studies of bone marrow-derived cells and analyses of how patients respond to treatment. The research remains distinct from established COPD management, and clinical trials are needed to determine which approaches are safe, effective and appropriate for particular groups.
A multicentre, randomized, placebo-controlled trial published in 2012 examined intravenous MSC treatment in 62 people with moderate to severe COPD across six sites. Participants received four monthly infusions and were followed for up to two years. The study found no significant overall differences between the treatment and placebo groups in lung function, quality-of-life measures, or COPD exacerbation frequency. However, it reported an early decrease in circulating C-reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory marker, among treated patients who started with elevated levels. The findings supported further investigation of safety and possible biological effects, but did not establish overall clinical efficacy.
In a later analysis published in 2021, researchers revisited the trial data by grouping participants according to their baseline CRP levels. Among patients with CRP levels of at least 4 milligrams per liter, 12 who received remestemcel-L were compared with 17 receiving placebo. The treated subgroup showed improvements from baseline in forced expiratory volume in one second, forced vital capacity, and six-minute walking distance at 120 days. Differences were observed as early as 10 days after the first infusion. However, the analysis was conducted after the original trial and found no significant benefit in patient-reported responses or exacerbation numbers. The authors called for further research, highlighting patient selection and inflammatory status as key questions for future trials.
The themes linking Moodley’s work are measuring change and searching for differences between patients. His current research includes circulating biomarkers associated with progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), microRNAs carried in small extracellular vesicles, and molecular changes in lung cells. These studies address a different disease from COPD, but share a clinical question: whether measurable biological features can help explain how a respiratory condition develops or how a patient may respond to treatment.
Moodley is also an investigator in the University of Western Australia’s Center of Research Excellence for Interstitial Lung Disease: Towards Individualized Care, a program running from 2023 to 2028. Its research sits within a wider effort to improve assessment and treatment for people with interstitial lung disease. Alongside clinical trials, such work may help identify patient subgroups and guide future studies of targeted treatment. At Fiona Stanley Hospital, his respiratory practice remains connected to the clinical problems that inform this research, from monitoring deterioration to evaluating possible therapies. Yuben Moodley’s work reflects an ongoing effort to connect bedside care with evidence from digital monitoring, clinical trials, and respiratory biology.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice, nor does it replace professional medical expertise or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional.
