Scientists Study the Beginning of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of the most common lung diseases. COPD alters the person's breathing patterns because of a long term blockage in the airways. COPD refers to two specific diseases of the lungs; chronic broncitis and emphysema.

Chronic bronchitis involves a long-term cough with mucus while emphysema gradually destrots of the lungs over time. Since both Chronic bronchitis and Emphysema are caused by the same factors, the patient is often diagnosed with both disorders at once.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third most deadly disease in the U.S. It appears to be partly driven by the action of immune cells circulating in the blood entering into the tissues of the lungs. UC Davis scientists have discovered that this key process begins in the blood vessels around the large airways in the center of the lung. The discovery helps clarify how smoking can bring about this severe respiratory condition.

The research also identifies a potential new target for directed drug therapy to counter the disease, which kills about three million people a year in the U.S. The study is published online today in the Public Library of Science (PLoS) an open-access public science journal.

"Understanding how a disease begins an important step to develop new therapies, and knowing the mechanism and location of white blood cell recruitment to the lung early on in the development of COPD in this model will allow us to more rapidly screen drugs and determine how they work," said Benjamin Davis, a researcher with the Center for Health and the Environment and the lead study author.

"We are currently testing whether statin drugs that may prevent the development of COPD in this model. The model appears to be ideal for screening drugs to treat early COPD, but the ultimate test comes when a treatment is transitioned from the lab to COPD patients," Davis said. "Our primary goal is to save lives."

Eating Cured Meat Increases Risk of Hospital Readmissions for COPD Patients

An excessive intake of cured meats, such as salami, chorizo and bacon, can increase readmission to hospital for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study by Spanish researchers from the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology (CREAL) in Barcelona.

The research was published online in the European Respiratory Journal.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is one of the most common lung diseases. COPD inhibits the person from breathng normally. It refers to two specific diseases of the lung:

• Chronic bronchitis: This involves a long-term cough with mucus
• Emphysema: This involves the gradual destruction of the lungs over time

Since both Chronic bronchitis and Emphysema are caused by the same factors (cigarette smoking being a major risk factor), most often, the patient is diagnosed with both at once.

Other than cigarette smoking, other risk factors that can cause COPD are:

• Exposure to certain gases or fumes in the workplace
• Exposure to heavy amounts of secondhand smoke and pollution
• Frequent use of cooking fire without proper ventilation

There is no cure for COPD.

Previous research has shown a link between the intake of cured meats and the risk of developing COPD; however, this study is the first to show the effects of cured meat consumption on the progression of the disease.

COPD is a term used for a number of conditions, including emphysema and chronic bronchitis that are caused by inflammation in the lungs. They make breathing more difficult and are a major cause of disability and death.

Tracking Cigarette Smoke Towards Emphysema

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center tracked the path cigarette smoke takes from the filter tip through the respiratory tract to vital lung cells. They trace the havoc created by tobacco smoke activating genes and portions of the immune system to create inflammation that results in life-shortening emphysema

Emphysema is one of the forms of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). COPD is one of the most common lung diseases. There are two main forms of COPD:

• Chronic bronchitis: This involves a long-term cough with mucus
• Emphysema: This involves the gradual destruction of the lungs over time

Most people with COPD have a combination of both conditions.

In a report online in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the scientists, including two from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, described the track the toxic smoke takes through the tissues and how they accomplish their destructive work.

"It's like walking into a crime scene," said Dr. Farrah Kheradmand, professor of medicine and immunology at BCM and a senior author of the report. In their current work, the scientists took cells present in the "crime scene" apart, piece by piece to elucidate what occurred when, and how.

It is a complicated story that took more than four years for her, her co-senior author Dr. David Corry and members of their laboratories and colleagues in the Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center at BCM to unravel, she said. Corry is professor and chief of the section of immunology, allergy and rheumatology in the department of medicine at BCM and a member of the faculty at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center.