A new Northwestern Medicine study is challenging long-held assumptions about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to results published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
A new Northwestern Medicine study is challenging long-held assumptions about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to results published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation.
COPD, a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, is traditionally understood as a condition marked by irreversible airflow obstruction and lung tissue damage. However, investigators have now found that chronic hypercapnia — elevated levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in the blood — may actively reshape lung structures and worsen disease outcomes.
The new findings suggest that elevated carbon dioxide levels may not just be a consequence of the disease, but a key contributor to its progression, said Masahiko Shigemura, PhD, research assistant professor of Surgery in the Division of Thoracic Surgery, who was first and corresponding author of the study.
Read More at: Northwestern University
