Lung Inflammation in Health and Disease, Volume I (Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 1303) (Original PDF)

 Respiratory diseases are leading causes of death and disability globally, with about 65 million people suffering from COPD, and 334 million from asthma, the most common chronic disease. Each year, tens of millions of people develop and can die from from respiratory infections such as pneumonia and TB. Systemic inflammation may induce and exacerbate local inflammatory diseases in the lungs, and local inflammation can in turn cause systemic inflammation. There is increasing evidence of the coexistence of systemic and local inflammation in patients suffering from asthma, COPD, and other lung diseases, and the co-morbidity of two or more local inflammatory diseases often occurs. For example, rheumatoid arthritis frequently occurs together with, and promotes the development of, pulmonary hypertension. This co-morbidity significantly impacts quality of life, and can result in death for those affected.