Restrictive Lung Disease

Lungs possess a characteristic property called lung compliance, which facilitates their expansion and contraction. The state in which the ability of lung compliance is lost, is known as restrictive lung disease. The lungs may become stiff and cannot expand properly. The visible symptoms of the disease is due the problem in the lung compliance. However, the intrinsic or underlying cause of the disease is pulmonary fibrosis. In pulmonary fibrosis, the lungs become scarred. The scars spread throughout the lung tissues and finally the lungs are converted into a fibrotic mass. The lungs undergo deterioration and may finally look like a honey comb. With the tissues turn fibrotic, their elasticity is lost. Stiffness in the tissues rises and their normal functioning is hampered. Their ability to release oxygen in the bloodstream decreases.

Symptoms
The main symptoms of the disease are cough and shortness of breath (SOB). SOB is also termed as dyspnea. The patient suffering from SOB, experiences unpleasant sensations in the respiratory tract.

Diagnosis
In the diagnosis of restrictive lung disease, the patient's FEV1/FVC ratio is checked. FEV1 is defined as the amount of air that a person's lungs can blow out in the duration of one second. The FVC is the value that indicates the total air a person's lungs can blow after full inspiration. The FEV1/FVC ratio in the patients with this disease is higher than the normal value. The total lung capacity and residual volume of the lungs are also checked. Total lung capacity is defined as the volume of air that is contained in the lungs after it inhales to the maximum capacity. A certain amount of air is left in the lungs as a residue when they exhale air. This particular air is termed as residual air. The patients diagnosed with restrictive lung disease shows a general decline in the normal values of residual volume and total lung volume. It is necessary for the total lung capacity to be less than 80% of its normal value in order to confirm the disease in the patient.

Causes
Exposure to asbestos which results into asbestosis, is one of the reasons behind the disease. The asbestos exposure not only causes the restrictive lung disease, but is also responsible for the contraction of different types of lung cancers. Rheumatoid arthritis is another cause behind fibrosis which results into restrictive lung disease. Hypersensitivity pneumonitis a lung disease may lead to the development of fibrosis. It is a disease which causes inflammation of alveoli in the lungs. Alveoli are small air-sacs present in the lungs. The inflammation in this disease is caused because of the patient's hypersensitivity to organic dusts. ARDS may result into the patient contracting the restrictive lung disease. ARDS is an abbreviated form of Acute respiratory distress syndrome. In ARDS, the patient suffers from inflammation of the parenchyma tissues of the lung. It is the result of many direct and indirect causes, including lung injury.

Treatment
The therapies or exact treatments for the restrictive lung disease are not yet developed. The methods used to treat the disease are not effective. Since the origin of the disease is not well understood, there might be chances of misdiagnosis. However, the treatment used for the disease include providing supplemental oxygen. Attempts were made to treat patients with colchicine. However, the treatment didn't prove fruitful.

Finally, it would be appropriate to say that, restrictive lung disease resulting from fibrosis doesn't have effective treatment measures. Prevention is the best 'treatment' for this disease.