Smoking related diseases: Have I got this right?

Hey guys, just wanted to check if my knowledge is sound on smoking related diseases

Chronic bronchitis - the inflammation of the lining of the lungs, caused by the build up of mucus and therefore increased infection. Its accompanied by the damage of teh cilia and overproduction of mucus

Emphysema (Wasn't too sure of this)- The loss of elasticity of the alevlli walls which could lead them to burst, thus decreasing surface area for gas exchange. Its caused by excessive mucus as WBC try to enter the airways to kill the pathogenic microorganism and as a result they damage the lining

COPD- all diseases such as astma, emphases and chronic bronchitis

Reply 1

nexttime

22

Original post by Tj789

Hey guys, just wanted to check if my knowledge is sound on smoking related diseases

Chronic bronchitis - the inflammation of the lining of the lungs, caused by the build up of mucus and therefore increased infection. Its accompanied by the damage of teh cilia and overproduction of mucus

Emphysema (Wasn't too sure of this)- The loss of elasticity of the alevlli walls which could lead them to burst, thus decreasing surface area for gas exchange. Its caused by excessive mucus as WBC try to enter the airways to kill the pathogenic microorganism and as a result they damage the lining

COPD- all diseases such as astma, emphases and chronic bronchitis

In modern medicine we've stopped distinguishing between bronchitis and emphysema, calling them all COPD, as they almost always occur together. Your descriptions would seem adequate though.

Whilst COPD is similar to asthma, it is not the same.

Reply 2

siarc

11

COPD is a debilitating, detrimental and presently incurable condition affecting around 3 million people in England with an estimated 2 million of those undiagnosed (Hyslop et al, 2010) and is set to become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2020 (Soriano & Rodriguez-Roisin, 2011). The Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) defines COPD as "A common preventable and treatable disease, characterised by persistent airflow limitation that is usually progressive and associated with an enhanced chronic inflammatory response in the airways and the lung to noxious particles or gasses. Exacerbations and comorbidities contribute to the overall severity in individual patients." (GOLD 2011).

COPD is caused by pathological changes in the lung including airway inflammation, remodelling, loss of elasticity in the tissue and an increased mucus production (Abboud & Vimalanathan, 2008; Roth et al, 2008). The airways become thinner, alveolar sacs collapse and the lower respiratory tract becomes colonised by bacteria such as Streptococcus Pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, indicative of a dysfunctional immune response (Sethi et al, 2007).

While that definition should help you understand what COPD is, for the level I think your question is aimed at it's better to think of COPD as an umbrella term encompassing diseases including chronic bronchitis, small airways disease and emphysema - that's what the main organisations in this area (NICE, GOLD, ATS/ERS) are all using to avoid confusion (Barnes et al, 2009).

The difference between asthma and COPD:
1) the obstructive nature of COPD is not fully reversible, in asthma it is
2) Barnes et al (2009) found a number of key mediators differ in the inflammatory component of the diseases.

Smoking related diseases: Have I got this right?

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