Emphysema is a devastating lung disease that affects at least two million Americans. It occurs about 25 percent more often in men, but women are catching up. Most cases are due to smoking, which is responsible for about 82 percent of all lung disease including emphysema. Air pollution, exposure to occupational irritants, and inherited weaknesses account for the remainder of cases. About 5 percent of emphysema cases are due to a genetic deficiency of a protective lung protein known as alpha 1-antitrypsin.
Lungs are able to expand and contract due to a system of elastic fibers that make up their tissues.
A delicate balance of two opposing chemicals in the lungs is responsible for maintaining the health of these elastic fibers. If the chemical balance is altered, the elastic fibers can no longer protect themselves from damage. Inside the lungs, small air sacs called alveoli exchange oxygen in the air we breathe with carbon dioxide that is produced by the cells in our body. These essential air sacs are the first target of destruction in the process that leads to emphysema. The walls of the sacs become irreversibly thin and fragile.