Verification of zinc role in pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Aim: Determination of the level of zinc and its fractions, as well as the enzyme neutrophilic elastase and albumin in persons suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), as well as smoking actively and passively.

Materials And Methods: The study involved 30 patients with a diagnosis of COPD and 90 healthy persons (60 of them smoking at the present time, 30 - no) who underwent spirometry and determination of zinc levels and its pools, albumin, and neutrophil elastase. All data are subject to statistical processing.