BACKGROUND Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a severe and progressive respiratory disease with poor prognosis. Despite the positive outcomes from recent clinical trials, there is still no cure for this disease. Pre-clinical animal models are currently largely limited to small animals which have a number of shortcomings. We have previously shown that fibrosis is induced in isolated sheep lu...

BACKGROUND Cigarette smoking is associated with emphysema and radiographic interstitial lung abnormalities. The degree to which interstitial lung abnormalities are associated with reduced total lung capacity and the extent of emphysema is not known. METHODS We looked for interstitial lung abnormalities in 2416 (96%) of 2508 high-resolution computed tomographic (HRCT) scans of the lung obtaine...

BACKGROUND Airway remodeling in asthma and COPD results in bronchial wall thickening. The thickness of the bronchial wall can be measured in high-resolution computed tomography. The objectives of the study were to assess the bronchial lumen and wall dimensions in asthma and COPD patients, in relation to disease severity, and to compare the airway dimensions in patients with asthma and COPD. M...