Genetics of COPD

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, is a lung disease. It makes it hard to breathe. Coughing, extra mucus in the lungs, and wheezing are all symptoms. Long-term exposure to toxic gases or tiny particles leads to COPD. Cigarette smoke contains both. So does smoke from cigars or fires. These can destroy the tiny air sacs in the lungs. Bronchitis is inflammation of the airways in your lungs. When it lasts for more than 3 months, we call it chronic. Chronic means it lasts for a long time, or keeps coming back. Chronic bronchitis can also lead to COPD. People who have COPD are at higher risk for lung cancer, heart disease and other conditions. But COPD is treatable. People with COPD can manage their symptoms and live a normal life. There are different ways to diagnose COPD. Also, it is not always diagnosed right. This does not make it easy for scientists to study COPD. So, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center will work on a better way to get COPD information from medical records. They will work on a “formula” for figuring out who has COPD. They will test this with BioVU. The goal is to make it easier for scientists to get the right information for their research. This will also make it easier to study gene changes linked to COPD. Their research results will be better because we will know who has COPD and who does not. Their new “formula” will help us learn more about who may be at risk for COPD.