Study may have discovered method for identifying smokers’ emphysema risk level

A recent study out of the University of Iowa may have revealed a method of determining a smoker’s risk level of developing emphysema before the disease damages and eventually destroys areas of the lungs. Early identification could help those with an increased risk of emphysema through early intervention.

Researchers used multi-detector row CT imaging to measure blood flow patterns in the lungs of 41 study participants, including 17 non-smokers and 24 smokers. They found that smokers with subtle signs of emphysema, but who still maintain proper lung function, have a very different blood flow compared to non-smokers and smokers with no signs of emphysema.  Blood flow in these individuals was said to be the most disrupted, which supports the idea that abnormal blood flow occurs before emphysema develops.

“Although the underlying causes of emphysema are not well understood, smoking increases the risk of developing the disease,” said lead study author Eric Hoffman, Ph.D., UI professor of radiology, internal medicine and biomedical engineering. “Our study suggests that some smokers have an abnormal response to inflammation in their lungs; instead of sending more blood to the inflamed areas to help repair the damage, blood flow is turned off and the inflamed areas deteriorate.”

The study suggests that the body’s ability to determine when to turn off or increase blood flow is defective in some people, most likely due to genetic differences. When coupled with smoking, this genetic difference increases lung inflammation, which could increase the risk of developing emphysema.

“We think that we’ve found one reason for emphysema but there’s probably a bunch of other reasons also,” said Hoffman. “So we’ve found a way to identify one portion of the population, to now go look for a gene that might be causing this.” Click Here to Access the Full Story from the University of Iowa