TY - JOUR T1 - Thorax in focus: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease JF - Thorax JO - Thorax SP - 171 LP - 176 DO - 10.1136/thoraxjnl-2011-201231 VL - 67 IS - 2 AU - David B Hodgson AU - Gauri Saini AU - Charlotte E Bolton AU - Michael C Steiner Y1 - 2012/02/01 UR - http://thorax.bmj.com/content/67/2/171.abstract N2 - Keeping up to date with scientific developments in any field of medicine is challenging, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is no exception. Thorax has played an important part in the communication of key developments to its readership. In this article we review original research published in the journal over the last 2-3 years. We consider scientific and clinical developments in the epidemiology, mechanisms and treatment of COPD, placing these articles in the context of other relevant literature in COPD. ER -