Abstract:

Cognitive dysfunction is very common in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients, but the mechanism has not been illustrated clearly. The common thought internationally is that chronic hypoxia and/or hypercarbia play important roles in the process of neuron damage. Hypoxia activates body′s inflammatory response and releases a series inflammatory factors that contribute to the endothelial dysfunction and neuron damage. Recent years, many reports pointed out that the chronic hypoxia is a high risk factor in the progress of Alzheimer′s disease. The current studies of the relation between COPD with cognitive dysfunction and dementia of Alzheimer′s disease are reviewed in this article.

Key words: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cognitive dysfunction, chronic hypoxia, cerebral endothelial dysfunction, Alzheimer′s disease