COPD, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, robs an estimated 24 million Americans of their ability to breathe. But nearly 12 million are unaware that they are developing one of its two forms—chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Both conditions starve the body of oxygen by stopping air from entering and exiting the lungs. In chronic bronchitis, inflammation narrows the airways. Emphysema damages delicate air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs.

Serious problems don’t happen overnight. Breathing gradually becomes more difficult for people with COPD until they feel as though they are inhaling and exhaling through a small straw, according to DRIVE4COPD.com, an ongoing awareness campaign that Danica Patrick supports in honor of her grandmother who had emphysema.

The Post caught up with the popular race driver in the days before her NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in the 2012 Daytona 500.

24M: The DRIVE4COPD monument—on display at Daytona International Speedway and created by renowned artist and sculptor Michael Kalish to signify COPD’s impact in the United States—is constructed of 24 large pinwheels made from 2400 license plates representing the 24 million people it affects and secured to a base that forms a map of the country. Photo Courtesy of DRIVE4COPD.com

“There wasn’t one specific moment when we knew that my grandmother had COPD, ” recalls Patrick. “Her disease was progressing in the 1990s, but we didn’t realize it. Today we want to spread the word that people must pay attention to early symptoms. There’s no cure, but early diagnosis and treatment can improve symptoms so patients can take a trip, walk outside, or live in a two-story house—all those things that become difficult when you can’t breathe.”

COPD also affects family and friends who step up to care for loved ones with a disease that too often takes lives before age 70. Patrick’s grandmother passed away in 2001 at age 61.

“If you won’t take steps to address COPD for your own sake, do it for your spouse, your kids, or your grandkids,” urges Patrick. “I have happy memories of Grandma about getting ice cream, playing at her house, and earning a quarter for doing chores. But it’s sad for me that she’s not here in this chapter of my life—we never had the chance to know each other as adults.”

Get on track to better breathing with Patrick’s race day tips:

Photo Courtesy of DRIVE4COPD.com

1. Ready! Recognize common symptoms of COPD: coughing, shortness of breath, fatigue, and chest tightness. “Normal activities should not be difficult to complete and they should not make you cough,” says Patrick.

2. Set! Go to DRIVE4COPD.com and answer five short questions to learn more about COPD and identify your risk. “We live in an age of technology and should take advantage of it. Join the more than 2 million people who have taken the online quiz,” encourages Patrick.

3. Go! Print off the results and take it your doctor. “It’s a great way to start the conversation about finding a treatment plan that works for you,” she adds.

Danica at Daytona: Driving for COPD Awareness The Saturday Evening Post

Regenocyte—an independent biotechnology firm—is exploring the potential of adult stem cells for cardiovascular and severe lung disease. For more about the experimental process from lead researcher Dr. Zannos Grekos and for patient stories, visit Regenocyte – Adult Stem Cell Therapy or call The Heart and Vascular Institute in Naples, Florida, at 866-216-5710.

News Worth Knowing

With so much adult stem cell research underway, it can be tough to keep track of it all. Here are more breakthroughs that are worth keeping an eye on.

Crohn’s Disease: Resetting the Immune System

For sufferers of Crohn’s disease, everyday life can feel like a never-ending bout of food poisoning. The disease arises when the immune system attacks the stomach and intestines, causing abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting. No cure for the condition has yet been found, but Julian Panes, a gastroenterologist at the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona, Spain, thinks he may have hit on the most effective treatment yet: giving chronic Crohn’s patients an infusion of their own adult stem cells to “reset” their immune systems, ending the body’s misguided efforts to attack the digestive system.

The procedure Dr. Panes uses is a straightforward but grueling one. First, patients receive a round of chemotherapy to depress their immune systems, then blood is drawn to obtain a critical mass of adult stem cells. “We check that there is a sufficient number of cells to complete two procedures, just to make sure we are on the safe side,” Dr. Panes says. “After another round of chemotherapy, we infuse the cells into the patient, and the cells populate the bone marrow.” So far, he adds, the treatment seems to result in quick and effective healing of patients’ damaged digestive tissue. “We already have four patients that have been transplanted for more than a year, and three of them are completely without any symptoms. The disease made them miserable, and now they have a normal life.” Dr. Panes plans to begin large-scale clinical trials of the treatment within the next few years.

Reconstructive Surgery: The Next Level

Jeremy Mao, director of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory at Columbia University’s College of Dental Medicine, thinks he’ll someday be able to do lasting reconstructions of the breast and skin using soft-tissue implants studded with adult stem cells.

In a 2007 animal study, Dr. Mao demonstrated the viability of his technique. First, he inserted adult stem cells that generate fatty tissue into minuscule channels etched in hydrogel implants. He added a growth factor known to promote the development of blood-vessel tissue. Then he transplanted the hydrogel cylinders into mice. He observed that fatty tissue grew in the region of each cylinder—and that it stayed healthy because networks of blood vessels formed to support the new tissue. “When you put micro-channels in the hydrogel, they become a conduit for the blood vessels,” he says.

If Dr. Mao’s technique works in humans, surgeons may be able to perform successful breast reconstructions without silicone and design facial soft-tissue implants that actually hold their shape. Dr. Mao also thinks his method of engineering tissue with its own blood vessel supply will eventually help researchers who use stem cells to build replacement kidneys and livers. “The work we are doing could be informative for more complex organs.”

For more, read “The Post Investigates: The Other Stem Cells,” in the Jan/Feb 2010 issue of The Saturday Evening Post, on newsstands through February.  Subscribe online or purchase the issue at ShopThePost.com.

Adult Stem Cells: Web Extra The Saturday Evening Post