Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is abbreviated as COPD and includes both emphysema and chronic bronchitis. COPD is currently the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. Unlike most major medical diseases, the morbidity and mortality from COPD continue to rise in the US. In 2000, over 10 million Americans carried a physician diagnosis of COPD and 120,000 Americans died from this disease. Additionally, from the year 1980 to the year 2000, the number of cases of COPD among women nearly doubled and the prevalence among African Americans increased by 61%. Unlike the other leading causes of death, no medical therapies currently available improve the course of disease or affect survival in COPD. Current therapies for COPD that improve survival in COPD are limited to smoking cessation, oxygen therapy, and possibly surgery. Medical therapies such as inhalers and pills improve symptoms and reduce COPD exacerbations ("attacks"), but have not been shown to slow down the progression of the disease.