COPD & Emphysema Support Group
COPD is a progressive disease characterized by airflow obstruction or limitation. Emphysema is characterized by loss of elasticity of the lung tissue, destruction of structures supporting the alveoli and of capillaries feeding the alveoli. Both have symptoms that include shortness of breath, among other respiratory troubles. If you are a COPD or Emphysema sufferer, join...
Researchers Suspect Genetic Link to COPD
Inherited susceptibility to cigarette smoke may be the key
Posted March 20, 2009
FRIDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- Gene variants that may be associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been identified by Boston University School of Medicine researchers.
They studied 7,691 participants in the Framingham Heart Study in an attempt to identify a relationship between common genetic variants and measures of lung function. This led them to gene variants on chromosome 4 that could be a potential risk factor for the disease, known as COPD.
"Several interesting genes are present in the region that we identified, including a gene (HHIP) interacting with a biological pathway involved in lung development, but it is not yet clear which gene in the region explains the association," lead author Jemma Wilk, an assistant professor of neurology, said in a university news release.
"Our results identified a region of chromosome 4 that warrants further study to understand the genetic effects influencing lung function," Wilk said.
The study appears March 20 in PLoS Genetics.
COPD is a lung disease that's the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States and one of the leading disease-related causes of disability in adults. Cigarette smoking is the primary risk factor for COPD, but just 20 percent of smokers develop the condition. This fact, along with family studies of lung function and COPD, suggest that genetic factors affect a person's susceptibility to cigarette smoke, according to background information from the researchers.
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/03/20/researchers-suspect-genetic-link-to-copd.html
Inherited susceptibility to cigarette smoke may be the key
Posted March 20, 2009
FRIDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- Gene variants that may be associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have been identified by Boston University School of Medicine researchers.
They studied 7,691 participants in the Framingham Heart Study in an attempt to identify a relationship between common genetic variants and measures of lung function. This led them to gene variants on chromosome 4 that could be a potential risk factor for the disease, known as COPD.
"Several interesting genes are present in the region that we identified, including a gene (HHIP) interacting with a biological pathway involved in lung development, but it is not yet clear which gene in the region explains the association," lead author Jemma Wilk, an assistant professor of neurology, said in a university news release.
"Our results identified a region of chromosome 4 that warrants further study to understand the genetic effects influencing lung function," Wilk said.
The study appears March 20 in PLoS Genetics.
COPD is a lung disease that's the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States and one of the leading disease-related causes of disability in adults. Cigarette smoking is the primary risk factor for COPD, but just 20 percent of smokers develop the condition. This fact, along with family studies of lung function and COPD, suggest that genetic factors affect a person's susceptibility to cigarette smoke, according to background information from the researchers.
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/healthday/2009/03/20/researchers-suspect-genetic-link-to-copd.html
So it looks like I got that bad gene.
I have four sisters and two brothers.
Three of my sisters smoked and one of my brothers,
None of them have lung problems, except my oldest sister who has Asthma who did not smoke and me who did smoke and I have Asthma and emphysema.
I am just like my father, his mother and possibly her father too.
I think cos they looking at the genetic factor that clearly run in family's beyond and including the Alpha 1,
this new knowledge will help them find more ways to treat and maybe cure emphysema in the future.
You and I Eillen are not alone I am sure of that, others have this running in families too.
Always looking for help and hope.
Hugs for hope and research,
Holly
I really think that down the road, we will find our cure because of all this great research in genetic engineering and stem cells. There is great hope!
Thanks! Hugs, Sue
Linda
Thanks, Holly!
You find the most interesting things!
Hugs
Donna