"Microparticles" Useful in Identifying Earliest Signs of Emphysema
Friday, March 11, 2011 - 12:50
in Health & Medicine
Monitoring blood for tiny particles released by cells lining the lungs may help clinicians diagnose emphysema in its earliest stages, according to researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College. The particles, called endothelial microparticles (EMPs), are shed during the disease process as tiny blood vessels in the lungs, called pulmonary capillaries, are injured and die.