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The trade magazine Pulmonology Consultant asked Mehmet Kesimer, PhD, four important questions about mucin abnormalities in early COPD.


To reduce the long-term societal impact of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), there has been a call to focus intervention efforts on not only the reduction of symptoms and exacerbations in advanced disease, but also the prevention of pathological progression in early disease.

Mucin abnormalities may be a key factor in predicting the risks and rates of progression to more severe disease, according to a presentation that Mehmet Kesimer, PhD, gave during the American Thoracic Society’s 2020 Virtual Meeting.

Kesimer is a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine, where he is also a member of the Marsico Lung Institute. He answered questions about the importance of identifying a sensitive and specific laboratory biomarker for early bronchitis, how mucin abnormalities may serve as a noninvasive biomarker in early COPD, and how the research in this area may impact the future of clinical practice.

You can read the full Q&A here.