COPD discovery might improve treatment
Researchers say theyve found a new way to predict how chronic obstructive pulmonary disease will progress, a discovery they believe could improve COPD treatment.
Their research might help doctors determine which patients are less likely to respond to standard treatment and are at higher risk for disease advancement, the study authors explained.
COPD -- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease -- is a chronic lung disease that makes it tough to breathe. It includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, according to the American Lung Association.
The new discovery concerns something called neutrophilic airway inflammation, which is associated with COPD. Neutrophils are white blood cells that are important for fighting infection.
Scientists said that a type of neutrophil behavior called neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation in the lungs of COPD patients appears to reduce their ability to destroy bacteria.
We have known for many years that neutrophils should be able to fight infection, but we havent fully understood why they dont work in COPD, said study author Dr. James Chalmers, from the University of Dundee in Scotland.
Some recent studies described the presence of NETs in the COPD lung, so we wanted to know whether there was any relationship between NETs and outcomes in COPD patients, he said in a news release from the American Thoracic Society. For the study, the researchers collected blood and sputum samples from 141 patients at the end of acute COPD flare-ups.
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