Multi-Level Integrated Analysis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) heterogeneity

Autor/a

Noell, Guillaume

Director/a

Agustí García-Navarro, Àlvar

Faner, Rosa

Fecha de defensa

2019-02-22

Páginas

95 p.



Departamento/Instituto

Universitat de Barcelona. Departament de Medicina

Resumen

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including cancer, cardiovascular (heart diseases or stroke), respiratory (COPD or asthma) and metabolic diseases (diabetes) are chronic conditions that represent a major global health problem of the 21st century. All of them, however, are the end-result of a complex set of gene-environment interactions that develop over years and often lead to several NCDs co-existing in the same individual (multi-morbidity). Multi-level integrated analysis has the potential to uncover the heterogeneity of NCDs by conceptualizing them as emergent properties of a complex, non-linear, dynamic and multilevel biological system, or network of biological and environmental interactions. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a NCD of increasing prevalence worldwide that is projected to be by 2020 the third leading cause of death worldwide. It is currently viewed as a broad diagnostic term that encompass a continuum of subtypes each characterized by distinct functional or pathobiological mechanisms (endotypes) and is characterized by persistent respiratory symptoms and airflow limitation. The underlying hypothesis of this PhD Thesis is that multi-level integrated analysis can help us understand highly heterogeneous respiratory diseases such as COPD. Specifically, the following two aspects of COPD heterogeneity will be addressed: 1) Exacerbations of COPD (ECOPD): ECOPD are episodes of worsening of the symptoms whose pathogenesis and biology are not entirely understood. They are heterogeneous events of non-specific diagnosis. Biomarkers analysis and networks medicine were used to uncover novel pathobiological information from the comparison of the multi-level (i.e., clinical, physiological, biological, imaging and microbiological) correlation networks determined during ECOPD and clinical recover. We concluded that ECOPD are characterised by disruption of network homeokinesis that exists during convalescence and can be identified objectively by using a panel of three biomarkers (dyspnoea, circulating neutrophils and CRP levels) frequently determined in clinical practice. 2) Early low lung function and health in later life: In 2015 Lange P. et al. showed that low peak lung function in early adulthood is associated with the diagnosis of COPD later in life. We assessed in three general population cohorts the prevalence of low peak lung function and its association with other clinical or biological parameters - specifically respiratory, cardiovascular, and metabolic abnormalities – as well as incidence of comorbid diseases during follow-up. We concluded that low peak lung function in early adulthood is common in the general population and could identify a group of individuals at risk of early (cardiovascular, metabolic and systemic) comorbidities and premature death.

Palabras clave

Ciències de la salut; Ciencias biomédicas; Medical sciences; Malalties pulmonars obstructives cròniques; Enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica; Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases

Materias

577 - Bioquímica. Biología molecular. Biofísica

Área de conocimiento

Ciències de la Salut

Documentos

GUILLAUME NOELL_PhD_THESIS.pdf

18.22Mb

 

Derechos

L'accés als continguts d'aquesta tesi queda condicionat a l'acceptació de les condicions d'ús establertes per la següent llicència Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
L'accés als continguts d'aquesta tesi queda condicionat a l'acceptació de les condicions d'ús establertes per la següent llicència Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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