CYSTIC LUNG DISEASE

TYPES

Cystic lung disease is a rare type of disease. However, individuals who have it have one of the following types:

Brit-Hogg-Dube syndrome (BHD)

This type of rare disease is usually caused by an abnormal gene you inherited from your parent who had such a disease. You may also acquire such disease if there are changes to one of your genes.

Pulmonary Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (PLCH)

Young adults who are smokers or former smokers commonly have PLCH. It usually happens when the cells in your lungs grow abnormally due to the chemicals in a cigarette. Once the disease gets worse, scars may be formed and the tissue in your lungs becomes thick and stiff. You may find it hard to breathe, and experience shortness of breath.

Amyloidosis

This type of cystic lung disease is extremely rare. It is a heterogeneous group of disorders caused by the deposition of a specific protein called amyloid in extracellular spaces in an abnormal fibrillary fashion.

Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia (LIP)

This is an extremely rare type of disorder. Physicians believe that it can be a disease by itself, a reaction to another disease, or caused by something in the environment.

Lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia may happen when you have other autoimmune diseases such as Sjorgen’s syndrome. With this condition, your immune system may attack the glands that make your saliva and tears.

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM)

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis occurs when muscle cells in the lung tissue grow out of control and form cysts that cause damage to the lung tissue. Women between the ages of 20 and 40 are commonly affected by such disease.

SYMPTOMS

Individuals with different types of CLD often experience similar nonspecific symptoms like the following:

• Shortness of breath
• Cough
• Wheezing
• Exhaustion
• Chest pain

DIAGNOSIS

Several examinations may be performed to have an accurate diagnosis of the disease.

The following include:

• A thorough review of the patient’s medical history.
• An imaging test called high-definition computed tomography (HRCT)
• Lung biopsy
• Other tests requested by your physician.

TREATMENT

Treatments for CLD may include smoking cessation, the use of medications, surgery or a mix of these. Treating such disease still depends on the underlying condition an individual has.