The first is an inflammation of the bronchi, the tubes leading from the windpipe to each lung. The second is reduced elasticity in the tiny air sacs of the lungs. Both conditions can be caused by smoking. Bronchitis can also be brought on by air pollution, a bad cold or the spread of another infection, and emphysema by asthma and tuberculosis. In the Chest study, the verbal memory of COPD patients was compared with that in three other groups.
Verbal memory is one of the first functions to be affected.
But this does not mean that normally healthy people who suffer a severe or prolonged bout of bronchitis will have impaired mental function. It would take several years of reduced oxygen supply to permanently reduce memory skills. For now, though, American respirologists plan not only to tell their COPD patients how to take their medications, but to put their instructions down in writing. Some say it is energy draining, others say it replenishes strength. To help determine just what happens, British doctors surveyed 1,000 men.