Preface

In order to perform its function in gas exchange, the lungs and all components of the respi‐ ratory system are constantly exposed to pathogens, toxins, pollutants, irritants, and aller‐ gens in the environment. Lung inflammation involves an array of mechanisms to defend the lung against these extrinsic agents and to repair injured tissue. Additionally, the lungs are a frequent target at risk to conditions associated with systemic inflammation that cause multiorgan damage. The inflammatory reaction in the lung is a complex and dynamic process, and our understanding in this field is rapidly progressing. Further elucidation of the com‐ plexity of inflammation will likely improve the clinician's approach to as well as the treat‐ ment of a myriad of lung disorders. The chapters in this book are selected topics of current interest in lung inflammation.

> **Dr. Kian Chung Ong** KC Ong Chest & Medical Clinic Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre Singapore

**Chapter 1**

**Lung Inflammation, Oxidative Stress and Air Pollution**

This is a very relevant chapter in the context of "Lung Inflammation" because it details and discusses an important theme in this area: air pollution. The analyses of epidemiological studies, conducted in various urban centres, have provided coherent evidence that elevated levels of air pollution are associated with an increased risk of respiratory disease and mortality. The whole population is affected, but the active and athletic population is of special concern because of the amount of time they spend training and/or competing outdoors, eliciting high ventila‐

This chapter addresses the systemic effects that inhaled pollutants have as well as the local pulmonary inflammatory processes and oxidative stress. The consequences that these process‐ es may impose to the health and performance of the active population will also be described. The use of antioxidants to counteract the deleterious oxidative stress of exercise when per‐

Air pollution can be composed by a cocktail of different substances that in large amounts can be harmful to the ecosystem. The industrial revolution marks the beginning of an accelerated global urbanization process. As a result, large urbanized areas suffer from, amongst other problems, a high concentration of air pollutants. The most evident form of air pollution is a dark layer of gas – also known as smog – present above big cities. Nevertheless, there are different kinds of air pollution that are not as visible. Sources include natural processes, such as volcano emissions, and also industrialized sources found in urban centres linked to human activities.

> © 2014 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

The latter includes power plants, factories, burning of fossil fuel and transportation.

Elisa Couto Gomes and Geraint Florida-James

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

tion rates that result in higher pollutants delivery to the lungs.

formed in a polluted environment is discussed here too.

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/58252

**1. Introduction**

**2. Air pollution**
