Accelerated aging mechanisms in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is projected to become the third leading cause of death worldwide in 2030. It is a chronic disease that is mostly present in the elderly. A lot of COPD associated features (anatomical and functional) are part of normal lung aging that seems to be accelerated in this disease. López-Otín, et al. have proposed nine cellular and molecular hallmarks of aging. These hallmarks seem to be present in COPD suggesting that accelerated aging could be a part of the pathogenesis of this disease. Therefore, new potential therapeutic targets based on these mechanisms could modify the evolution of this disease providing better quality of live and prolonged life expectancy.