Measurement of Smoking-Induced Neutrophil Activation

Neutrophil involvement in the development of COPD by smokers is well recognised. However not all smokers develop overt lung disease. We have previously shown that uptake of FDG is related to neutrophil activity and can be measured by PET and that uptake is greater in COPD patients than normal subjects. We have also shown that FDG-PET shows inflammatory changes in asymptomatic smokers after cigarette smoking. We plan to investigate the attenuation of this inflammation by steroid tablets and whether FDG PET can demonstrate this. We also wish to establish if similar changes are demonstrated after smoking by COPD patients.