Metody metabolomiczne jako nowe narzedzie diagnostyki przewlekłej obturacyjnej choroby płuc

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is very heterogeneous, with multiple phenotypes and hardly predictable clinical course. There are no clearly defined biomarkers measuring its progress and advancement. In the recent years, development of modern measurement techniques, first of all the nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry, allowed their widespread use in biological research. These techniques can analyze tens to several thousands of fine chemicals. Together with chemometric analysis create new diagnostic tool - metabolomics, which evaluates the biochemical processes in biological systems with an assessment of metabolome (the set of all metabolites - small molecules compounds MW < 1000 Da found in the biological material). This in turn makes possible to monitor the quantitative and qualitative changes in activity of the body's metabolism at the cellular level. Theoretically, this may allow to detect disturbances of homeostasis before the onset of clinical symptoms and yet measurable laboratory changes. The results, of the studies so far relatively few, studies with the use of metabolomic methods in COPD suggest that it might be possible to differentiate COPD from other diseases, as well as diagnosing patients with COPD, including disease stratification and severity. It is necessary to conduct further research in order to assess the sensitivity and specificity of these methods in COPD.