Is COPD a disease of accelerated ageing?

3^rd International Conference on Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

July 11-12, 2016 Brisbane, Australia

William MacNee

University of Edinburgh, UK

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Pulm Respir Med

Abstract :

Ageing is associated with a progressive degeneration of the tissues, which has a negative impact on the structure and function of vital organs and is among the most important known risk factors for most chronic diseases. Th ere is increasing evidence that many chronic infl ammatory diseases represent an acceleration of the ageing process. Chronic pulmonary diseases represents an important component of the increasingly prevalent multiple chronic debilitating diseases, which are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in the elderly. Th e lungs age and it has been suggested that chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a condition of accelerated lung ageing and that ageing may provide a mechanistic link between COPD and many of its extra-pulmonary eff ects and comorbidities. In this presentation the physiological changes and mechanisms of ageing will be described with particular focus on the pulmonary eff ects of ageing and how these may be relevant to the development of COPD and its major extra-pulmonary manifestations.

Biography :

Email: W.MacNee@ed.ac.uk