University of British Columbia James Hogg Research Centre and Institute for Heart + Lung Health, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
J Appl Physiol (1985). 2012 Aug 15;113(4):636-46. doi: 10.1152/japplphysiol.00372.2012. Epub 2012 May 17.
Airway remodeling is an important pathophysiological mechanism in a variety of chronic airway diseases. Historically investigators have had to use invasive techniques such as histological examination of excised tissue to study airway wall structure. The last several years has seen a proliferation of relatively noninvasive techniques to assess the airway branching pattern, wall thickness, and more recently, airway wall tissue components. These methods include computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and optical coherence tomography. These new imaging technologies have become popular because to understand the physiology of lung disease it is important we understand the underlying anatomy. However, these new approaches are not standardized or available in all centers so a review of their validity and clinical utility is appropriate. This review documents how investigators are working hard to correct for inconsistencies between techniques so that they become more accepted and utilized in clinical settings. These new imaging techniques are very likely to play a frontline role in the study of lung disease and will, hopefully, allow clinicians and investigators to better understand disease pathogenesis and to design and assess new therapeutic interventions.
气道重塑是多种慢性气道疾病的重要病理生理机制。历史上，研究人员不得不使用组织学检查等有创技术来研究气道壁结构。在过去的几年中，出现了许多相对无创的技术来评估气道分支模式、壁厚度，以及最近评估气道壁组织成分。这些方法包括计算机断层扫描、磁共振成像和光相干断层扫描。这些新的成像技术之所以受到欢迎，是因为要了解肺部疾病的生理学，了解其潜在的解剖结构非常重要。然而，这些新方法在所有中心都没有标准化或可用，因此对其有效性和临床实用性进行审查是合适的。这篇综述记录了研究人员如何努力纠正技术之间的不一致，以使它们在临床环境中更被接受和使用。这些新的成像技术很可能在肺部疾病的研究中发挥重要作用，并有望使临床医生和研究人员能够更好地了解疾病发病机制，并设计和评估新的治疗干预措施。
