Inflammation and repair processes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

COPD is characterized by chronic inflammation and injury of both the airways and the parenchymal structures of the lung. These processes are associated with ongoing repair, Whether repair leads to restoration of normal tissue architecture or to altered tissue structure with loss of function depends on complex interrelationships of a variety of interacting mediators. The possibility that repair processes can be modulated by exogenous agents raises the possibility that therapeutic strategies aimed at repair can be effective. Such strategies offer tremendous promise both for slowing the relentlessly progressive natural history which most often characterizes COPD and, possibly, for restoring lung function.