Emphysema
Emphysema is a respiratory disorder. It is very common among Asian countries. In this disease the patients become unable to take normal breathe. The main cause of this disease is smoking and pollution. It is also caused due to some gene mutation or spontaneous mutation. Actually there is a special type of protein present in our lungs which is called Alpha Antitrypsin. It is responsible for maintaining our lungs healthy by providing elasticity to lungs tissue. It works against the action of neutrophill elastase which is a proteolytic enzyme which degrades the elastin of alveolar walls of lungs. Alpha Antitrypsin inhibits the action of neutrophill to keep our lungs healthy. As in normal lungs the level of neutrophill elastase is very low and constantly control by alpha antitrypsin.
If emphysema caused due to mutation in gene then it means that one single purine is replaced by lysine which results in this horrible diseases. Antitrypsin is basically present in our blood and plasma. It is synthesized and secreted by the liver. In normal lungs the amount of neutrophill elastase is very low which is constantly controlled by antitrypsin in our body. If this mechanism got disturbed due to any gene mutation, person become unable to breathe well and in chronic situations it may lead to death. When the mutated protein starts accumulating in our cells, it reduces the secretion of antitrypsin result in emphysema and if polymerization occurs then this mutated antitrypsin is not secreted by the cell and leads to a disease which will refer as cirrhosis. This disease is very common in European countries. It elevates the rate of lungs destruction, so smoking should be strictly avoided and healthy way of life should be adopt by everyone. Because the tissues of lungs cannot regenerate so any harm to these tissues will be detrimental and will not be repaired throughout life.
Author; Umar Saleh
