Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Molecular Pharmacology

  • 151 Accesses

Synonyms

Chronic bronchitis; Pulmonary emphysema

Definition

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects over 5% of the adult population, is the fourth leading cause of death worldwide, and is the only major cause of mortality that is increasing worldwide. It is a complex and heterogeneous inflammatory disorder of the lungs, caused mainly, but not exclusively, by cigarette smoking. Fifteen to twenty percent of smokers develop COPD.

The Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD; (http://www.goldcopd.com) has defined COPD as follows: “COPD is a common, preventable, and treatable disease that is characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation that is due to airway and/or alveolar abnormalities usually caused by significant exposure to noxious particles or gases. The chronic airflow limitation that characterizes COPD is caused by a mixture of small airways disease (e.g., obstructive bronchiolitis) and parenchymal destruction (emphysema),...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Barnes PJ (2017) Cellular and molecular mechanisms of asthma and COPD. Clin Sci (Lond) 131(1541–1558)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Celli BR, Cote CG, Marin JM, Casanova C, Montes de Oca M, Mendez RA, Pinto Plata V, Cabral HJ (2004) The body-mass index, airflow obstruction, dyspnea, and exercise capacity index in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. N Engl J Med 350:1005–1012

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singh D, Roche N, Halpin D, Agusti A, Wedzicha JA, Martinez FJ (2016) Current controversies in the pharmacological treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 194:541–549

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Singh D, Agusti A, Anzueto A, Barnes PJ, Bourbeau J, Celli BR, Criner GJ, Frith P, Halpin DMG, Han M, López Varela MV, Martinez F, Montes de Oca M, Papi A, Pavord ID, Roche N, Sin DD, Stockley R, Vestbo J, Wedzicha JA, Vogelmeier C (2019) Global strategy for the diagnosis, management, and prevention of chronic obstructive lung disease: the GOLD science committee report 2019. Eur Respir J 53:1900164

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • van Haarst A, McGarvey L, Paglialunga S (2019) Review of drug development guidance to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: US and EU perspectives. Clin Pharmacol Ther. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpt.1540

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Woodruff PG, Agusti A, Roche N, Singh D, Martinez FJ (2015) Current concepts in targeting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease pharmacotherapy: making progress towards personalised management. Lancet 385(9979):1789–1798

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany

    Stefan Uhlig & Christian Martin

  2. Pneumology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany

    Michael Dreher

Authors
  1. Stefan Uhlig
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Christian Martin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michael Dreher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefan Uhlig .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut Herz/Lungenforschg., Bad Nauheim, Hessen, Germany

    Stefan Offermanns

  2. Presidential Office, Friedrich-Schiller University Jena, Jena, Thüringen, Germany

    Walter Rosenthal

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Uhlig, S., Martin, C., Dreher, M. (2020). Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. In: Offermanns, S., Rosenthal, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Molecular Pharmacology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21573-6_250-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21573-6_250-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-21573-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-21573-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Biomedicine and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation