ABSTRACT
COPD is increasingly understood to be a chronic inflammatory disease, affecting mainly the peripheral airways (i.e., bronchiolitis) through remodeling and the lung parenchyma by degradation of the alveoli (i.e., emphysema) [1]. The inflammatory processes in COPD typically display periods of worsening (exacerbations), which frequently relate to bacterial infection. Several inflammatory cells are increased in the bronchial tissue of patients with COPD, including macrophages, neutrophils and T-lymphocytes (especially CD8 cells). In some reports on COPD, eosinophils are observed in bronchial biopsies or sputum; patients with COPD may thus display a type of pathology normally associated with asthma [2]. COPD may even be associated with atopy according to a recent report [3], even though it must be remembered that a number of patients have a combination of asthma and COPD, resulting in a more complex pathology.
