From: EurekAlert!
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-11/ats-ccb111610.php
Public release date: 19-Nov-2010
American Thoracic Society
COPD could be a problem with autoimmunity
According to a study that was published online in advance of its publication in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, researchers in Spain have found that “moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may be an auto-immunity problem.” The study showed that “a significant number of patients with COPD had significant levels of auto-antibodies circulating in their blood, about 5 to 10 times the level in controls.”
The article quotes Jaume Sauleda M.D., coordinator of respiratory medicine department, Hospital Universitari Son Dureta, Palma Mallorca, Spain, as saying, “Our findings provide further support for the hypothesis that the pathogenesis of COPD involves an auto-immune component.”
northpolecleanair 