Advance Toward Early Diagnosis Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Main Category: COPD
Article Date: 04 Dec 2008 - 5:00 PST

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Researchers in Finland are reporting identification of the first potential "biomarker" that could be used in development of a sputum test for early detection of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). That condition, which causes severe difficulty in breathing - most often in cigarette smokers - affects 12 million people in the United States.

In an article scheduled for the December 5 issue of ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, a monthly publication, Vuokko L. Kinnula and colleagues point out that no disease marker for COPD currently exists, despite extensive efforts by scientists to find one. Past research pointed to a prime candidate - surfactant protein A (SP-A), which has a major role in fighting infections and inflammation in the lung.

The scientists compared levels of a variety of proteins obtained from the lung tissues of healthy individuals, patients with COPD, and those with pulmonary fibrosis. They found that the lungs of COPD patients contained elevated levels of SP-A. The scientists also found elevated levels of SP-A in the sputum samples of COPD patients. "This suggests that SP-A might represent a helpful biomarker in the early detection of COPD and other related disorders," the article notes.

"Proteomics of Human Lung Tissue Identifies Surfactant Protein A as a Marker of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease"

DOWNLOAD FULL TEXT ARTICLE

The American Chemical Society - the world's largest scientific society - is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

American Chemical Society