Asthma alone afflicts over 1.5 million Canadians and 8 million Americans, while chronic bronchitis and emphysema cripple more than 10 million North Americans. In Canada, more than twelve thousand people under the age of 18 are hospitalized annually due to severe asthma. Many health disorders related to environmental factors, such as exposure to bacteria, cigarette smoke and industrial pollutants, are lung diseases as well. Victims of this disease have lungs full of holes where tissue has been destroyed by an enzyme called neutrophil elastase. Researchers are also exploring the possibility of gene therapy for emphysema patients.
Continued research is needed to find improved asthma therapies and perhaps a cure.
Dogs and monkeys in particular are helping researchers to devise new ways of controlling asthma, as well as to determine why certain chemicals provoke asthma attacks. Researchers have identified two genes in mice that may play important roles in causing asthma. Over the years, a great deal of research has focused on the mechanical properties of the lung. With the complexity of lung function and the vast number of diseases of the lung, biomedical research has come a long way in advancing medical knowledge about this essential body organ. With the continued use of animals and adjunct methodologies such as cell culture and computer modeling, further progress is expected to see bold new therapies and perhaps even cures for lung disease.