About Emphysema

Emphysema is a progressive, debilitating disease of the lung that affects nearly four million Americans and as many as 60 million people worldwide. The most common cause of emphysema is cigarette smoking, although genetic and occupational causes account for up to 10 percent of cases in the U.S.

Emphysema is a unique form of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease characterized by irreversible destruction of the tissue or “fabric” of the lung.  The tissues of the normal lung are elastic and responsible for our ability to exhale.  In people with emphysema, lung tissue loses its elasticity and the lungs enlarge and become filled with more and more air which can not be expelled. As emphysema worsens, patients develop exercise limitation, disabling shortness of breath, and reduced quality of life.

There is no cure for emphysema today, and medications that are currently used to treat the disease are marginally effective. Treatment traditionally consists of various drugs designed to open the airways that lead to the lungs, supplemental oxygen and pulmonary rehabilitation.  While oxygen can help with breathing, inhaled drugs are generally of limited benefit because emphysema is principally a disease of lung tissue and not a disease of the airways.