Pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Update 2006

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is, next to bronchial asthma, one of the most important socioeconomic pulmonary diseases. Despite its global importance, there is still a major lack of knowledge on the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of the disease, even though numerous recent studies have elucidated same important mechanisms. The present analysis is a summary of relevant findings and differentiates between animal experimental and preclinical human studies addressing important pathophysiologic features of COPD.