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Natural history of COPD: gaps and opportunities

Understanding the natural history of a disease is as important as knowing its cause(s) for effective disease prevention and treatment. Yet, our current understanding of the natural history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is incomplete and often controversial. This article discusses t...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Agustí, Alvar, Celli, Bartolomé
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: European Respiratory Society 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5731770/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29255718
http://dx.doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00117-2017
Descripción
Sumario:Understanding the natural history of a disease is as important as knowing its cause(s) for effective disease prevention and treatment. Yet, our current understanding of the natural history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is incomplete and often controversial. This article discusses the current gaps, and hence opportunities for research, in this field. In particular, it discusses the following six specific questions. 1) Is COPD a “single” disease? 2) Is COPD “only” a lung disease? 3) When does COPD begin or what is “early” COPD? 4) How does COPD “progress”? 5) How do we assess disease “severity”? 6) Can COPD be prevented (beyond smoking cessation) or its course be modified once detected?