Unregistered User If this is not your name, click here.
		Contact Us | Order Now | Journals | Bookstore | Register a colleague
	Select a ChannelAcneAIDS and HIVAllergy OtherAlzheimer'sAnaesthesiology OtherAngina Pectoris/MIAnxietyArthritis OtherAsthmaBack PainBacterial InfectionsBladder CancerBone Marrow TransplantationBreast CancerCardiology OtherCataractCell TransplantationCervical CancerCholesterol/Lipid disordersCirrhosisClinical PharmacologyColorectal CancerCongestive Heart FailureContact DermatitisContraceptionCOPDCystic FibrosisDental and Oral DisordersDepressionDermatology OtherDiabetesDialysisEating DisordersElbowEmergency MedicineEndocrinology OtherEpilepsyErectile DysfunctionFibromyalgiaGastro OtherGeneticsGenitourinary OtherGeriatricsGERD/GastritisGlaucomaH. Pylori/UlcerHaematology OtherHair LossHeadachesHepa/Biliary OtherHepatitisHipHRTHypertensionIBDImmunologyInfectious OtherInfertilityIntensive CareIrritable Bowel SyndromeKneeLeukemiasLiver CancerLung CancerLupusLymphomasMelanomaMenopauseMultiple Sclerosis Nephrology OtherNeurologic OtherNutritional / Metabolic OtherOb/Gyn OtherObesityOncology OtherOphth. OtherOphthalmic SurgeryOrgan TransplantationOrthopaedics OtherOsteoarthritisOsteoporosisOtitisOtorhino. OtherOvarian CancerPaediatricsPainPancreatic CancerParkinson'sPregnancyProstate CancerPsychiatry OtherPulmonary OtherRadiologyRenal CancerRenal FailureRespiratory InfectionsRheumatoid arthritisRheumatology OtherRhinitisSchizophreniaShoulderSleep ApnoeaSleep DisordersSpineStrokeSTDsSurgeryThyroid DisordersTransfusionTransplant Surgery OtherTraumaUrinary IncontinenceUrinary tract infectionsVaccinologyVascular DisordersViral Infections

SEARCH   News Bookstore Medline The Web Meetings & Congresses Complete Doctor's Guide    EXPLORE :    All News   All Webcasts   All Cases   All Meetings & Congresses   All Medical Resources New drugs / indications English Dictionary Medical Dictionary Thesaurus Warning | Privacy | Awards  Favourite Journals  Click here to choose your favourite journals  Favourite Sites  Click here to choose your favourite sites  Languages  Select languageEnglishFrançais

Genetic Link to Lung Disease LONDON -- August 29, 1997 -- A possible genetic link to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and emphysema is reported by Dr Christopher Smith and Dr David Harrison, from Southampton, UK, in The Lancet. Lungs are constantly under stress from substances, such as cigarrette smoke and solvents (known as oxidants), in the environment that cause the generation of reactive molecules (oxidation) in cells. These oxidative molecules can cause cell and tissue damage if they are not broken down quickly. The liver usually breaks down these harmful oxidants with the enzyme microsomal epoxide hydrolase (mEPHX), of which there are two genetic forms (polymorphisms) that confer slow and fast enzyme activity. The investigators found out which polymorphism of the gene for the mEPHX enzyme occurred in 203 blood donors (controls), 57 people with asthma, 50 people with lung cancer, 68 people with COPD (irreversible air-flow limitation of the lungs), and 94 people with emphysema (enlarged air spaces in the lung with destruction of lung cells). People with COPD and emphysema were much more likely than were controls to carry the gene that leads to slow activity of the enzyme. No differences between controls and the lung cancer or asthma groups were found. These findings, the investigators say, suggest that "highly reactive epoxide intermediates may have a role in the initiation and progression of the characteristic tissue abnormalities seen in emphysema" and that the polymorphisms may help to explain individual susceptibility to oxidant-related lung disease. The authors also implicate epoxide derivatives of cigarette smoke as a possible cause of some of the lung damage characteristic of COPD and emphysema. E-mail this page to a friend or colleague! To print, use this version