Patent ID: 7476380

Claim:
A method for treating a tracheo-bronchial tract disease in a subject in need thereof, the method comprising: (a) selecting a subject with a tracheo-bronchial tract disease selected from the group consisting of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), chronic bronchitis, and emphysema; and (b) administering to the subject a pharmaceutical composition in the form of an aerosol inhalant comprising a therapeutically effective amount of vitamin A, a vitamin A derivative, or a combination thereof encapsulated within a unilamellar liposome, wherein: (i) the vitamin A derivative is selected from the group consisting of retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, β-carotene, and esters thereof; (ii) the lipid composition in the lipid bilayer of said unilamellar liposome consists of phosphatidylcholine and at least one other phospholipid selected from the group consisting of phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylserine, and a cardiolipin; (iii) the unilamellar liposome targets the therapeutically effective amount of the vitamin A, the vitamin A derivative, or the combination thereof to alveolar macrophages; and (iv) the unilamellar liposome has a diameter of about 0.1 μm to about 0.4 μm.