Idiopathic Lung Emphysema

Idiopathic pulmonary emphysema

Definition

Emphysema is one of the most serious complications of smoking. Emyphysema occurs when the lung tissue and bronchial walls are damaged by tobacco smoke. The pulmonary parenchyma is replaced by connective tissue, the process of hypertrophy and hyperplasia develops, the bronchi expand, and the walls become more pliable to external influences. The combination of these processes is called obstructive pulmonary disease. Diagnosis can be challenging due to difficult-to-diagnose symptoms. Treatment is designed to reduce the progression of the disease and improve the patient’s quality of life. The prognosis of the disease is not always favorable. In some cases, recovery and complete restoration of lung tissue is possible. In other cases, there may be a sharp deterioration in the condition and progressive respiratory failure.

General information Emphysema is usually called an increase in the airiness of the lungs (increased elasticity). A person ceases to distinguish what it means to “breathe deeply.” This means that less air remains in the lungs than should remain in healthy people. Along with a decrease in the amount of air in the lungs, significantly more carbon dioxide is produced. Its concentration in the blood increases rapidly. In the meantime, oxygen is displaced from the blood, which worsens the person’s well-being. The causes of pathology are quite varied:

1. Violations of the functions of enzyme systems that provide collagen synthesis: * Lack of enzymes (including cathepsins, peptidases) * Reduced activity of enzymes involved in the formation of collagen fibers; 3. Immune disorders: allergic reactions to substances found in cigarettes; b) deposition of immune complexes in the walls of blood vessels or the interstitium of the lungs; c) damage to the vascular endothelium, d) increased production of inflammatory mediators (histamine, leukotrienes), enhancing the inflammatory response in tissues.

2. Violation of the composition of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract: Reversible narrowing of the bronchi of an allergic nature; Narrowing of the lumen of the bronchi due to immune inflammation. Peribronchial infiltration of lymphocytes, plasma cells, eosinophils and other inflammatory cells appears; Widening and deepening of the interalveolar fissures, which leads to loss of tightness of the pulmonary reticuloalveolar complex. The etiology of pathological changes has not yet been sufficiently studied. The main mechanisms of development: 1) Recurrent bronchopulmonary process 2) Progressive obstruction of the bronchi 3) Increased permeability of the pulmonary vessels 4) Promising mechanisms

Thus, an important stage in understanding the mechanisms of emphysema and obturator disease of the pulmonary system are the cellular and molecular mechanisms that influence the development of oxygen deficiency - chronic respiratory failure, hypoxic hypoxia and arterial hypoxemia of varying degrees of severity. The main cause of death of lung tissue is inflammatory damage. Exudate gradually accumulates in the lumen of the alveoli, preventing the entry

> **Pulmonary emphysema** is a pulmonary pathology, diffuse expansion of the acinus and destructive damage to the bronchioles (small airways), accompanied by destruction of the walls of the alveoli, insufficient gas exchange and manifested by cough, shortness of breath and increased fatigue. The process is localized both in one lung and in both, and most often manifests itself in men after 40-50 years. Typically, pulmonary emphysema in adults (sudden acute or chronic obstructive), paraseptal and saccular emphysema are distinguished. Currently, the term “emphysema” in relation to the lungs is irrelevant due to the development and introduction of radiation imaging methods (tomography, computed tomography of the chest organs) into practical healthcare.