HER2 Support Group Forums - Tykerb Lung Breathing reaction

Interstitial Lung Disease

Interstitial lung disease is a general category that includes many different lung conditions. All interstitial lung diseases affect the interstitium, a part of the lungs' anatomic structure.
The interstitium is a lace-like network of tissue that extends throughout both lungs. The interstitium provides support to the lungs' microscopic air sacs (alveoli). Tiny blood vessels travel through the interstitium, allowing gas exchange between blood and the air in the lungs. Normally, the interstitium is so thin it can't be seen on chest X-rays or CT scans.
Recommended Related to Lung Disease/Respiratory Problems

Understanding Bronchitis -- Diagnosis and Treatment
Tests are usually unnecessary in the case of acute bronchitis, as the disease is usually easy to detect through your description of symptoms and a physical exam. The doctor will simply use a stethoscope to listen for the rattling sound in your lungs' upper airways that typically accompanies the problem. In cases of chronic bronchitis, the doctor will likely get an X-ray of your chest to check the extent of the lung damage, as well as pulmonary function tests to measure how well your lungs are working...
Read the Understanding Bronchitis -- Diagnosis and Treatment article > >
Types of Interstitial Lung Disease

All forms of interstitial lung disease cause thickening of the interstitium. The thickening can be due to inflammation, scarring, or extra fluid (edema). Some forms of interstitial lung disease are short-lived; others are chronic and irreversible.
Some of the types of interstitial lung disease include:
Interstitial pneumonia: Bacteria, viruses, or fungi may infect the interstitium of the lung. A bacterium called Mycoplasma pneumonia is the most common cause.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis : A chronic, progressive form of fibrosis (scarring) of the interstitium. Its cause is unknown.
Nonspecific interstitial pneumonitis: Interstitial lung disease that's often present with autoimmune conditions (such as rheumatoid arthritis or scleroderma).
Hypersensitivity pneumonitis: Interstitial lung disease caused by ongoing inhalation of dust, mold, or other irritants.
Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP): A pneumonia-like interstitial lung disease but without an infection present. COP is also called bronchiolitis obliterans with organizing pneumonia (BOOP).
Acute interstitial pneumonitis: A sudden, severe interstitial lung disease, often requiring life support.
Desquamative interstitial pneumonitis: An interstitial lung disease that's partially caused by smoking.
Sarcoidosis: A condition causing interstitial lung disease along with swollen lymph nodes, and sometimes heart, skin, nerve, or eye involvement.
Asbestosis: Interstitial lung disease caused by asbestos exposure.
Causes of Interstitial Lung Disease

Bacteria, viruses, and fungi are known to cause interstitial pneumonias. Regular exposures to inhaled irritants at work or during hobbies can also cause some interstitial lung disease. These irritants include:

Asbestos
Silica dust
Talc
Coal dust, or various other metal dusts from working in mining
Grain dust from farming
Bird proteins (such as from exotic birds, chickens, or pigeons)

Drugs such as nitrofurantoin, amiodarone, bleomycin, and many others can rarely cause interstitial lung disease.
All told, these factors cause a small percentage of interstitial lung disease. The cause of most interstitial lung disease is unknown.
Who is at risk from interstitial lung disease? Anyone can develop interstitial lung disease. Men and women of any age can be affected. Interstitial lung disease is more common in people with autoimmune disease, including lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and scleroderma.
Symptoms of Interstitial Lung Disease

The most common symptom of all forms of interstitial lung disease is shortness of breath. Nearly all people with interstitial lung disease will experience breathlessness, which may get worse over time.
Other symptoms of interstitial lung disease include:

Cough, which is usually dry and nonproductive.
Weight loss, most often in people with COP or BOOP.

In most forms of interstitial lung disease, the shortness of breath develops slowly (over months). In interstitial pneumonias or acute interstitial pneumonitis, symptoms come on more rapidly (in hours or days).
Diagnosis of Interstitial Lung Disease

People with interstitial lung disease usually come to see a doctor due to concern about shortness of breath or cough. Imaging tests of the lungs are usually done to identify the problem.
Chest X-ray: A simple chest X-ray is the first test in the evaluation of most people with a breathing problem. Chest X-ray films in people with interstitial lung disease may show fine lines in the lungs.
Computed tomography (CT scan): A CT scanner takes multiple X-rays of the chest and a computer creates detailed images of the lungs and surrounding structures. Interstitial lung disease can usually be seen on a CT scan.
High-resolution CT scan: If interstitial lung disease is suspected, using certain CT scanner settings can improve the images of the interstitium. This increases the CT scan's ability to detect interstitial lung disease.
Pulmonary function testing: A person sits in a sealed plastic booth and breathes through a tube. People with interstitial lung disease may have a reduced total lung capacity. They may also have a decreased ability to transfer oxygen from their lungs into their blood.
Lung biopsy: Often, obtaining lung tissue to examine under a microscope is the only way to determine which type of interstitial lung disease a person has. There are several ways to collect lung tissue, which is called a lung biopsy:

Bronchoscopy: An endoscope is advanced through the mouth or nose into the airways. Tiny tools on the endoscope can take a sample of lung tissue.
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS): Using tools inserted through small incisions, a surgeon can sample multiple areas of lung tissue.
Open lung biopsy (thoracotomy): In some cases, traditional surgery with a large incision in the chest is needed to obtain a lung biopsy.

Treatments for Interstitial Lung Disease

Treatments for interstitial lung disease vary according to the type of interstitial lung disease and its cause.
Antibiotics. These are effective treatments for most interstitial pneumonias. Azithromycin (Zithromax) and levofloxacin (Levaquin) eliminate the bacteria that cause most interstitial pneumonias. Viral pneumonias usually resolve on their own. Fungal pneumonias are rare, but can be treated with antifungal drugs.
Corticosteroids: In some forms of interstitial lung disease, ongoing inflammation in the lungs causes damage and scarring. Corticosteroids like prednisone and methylprednisolone reduce the activity of the immune system. This reduces the amount of inflammation in the lungs and the rest of the body.
Inhaled oxygen: In people with low oxygen blood levels due to interstitial lung disease, inhaled oxygen may improve symptoms. Regular use of oxygen might also protect the heart from damage caused by low oxygen levels.
Lung transplant: In advanced interstitial lung disease causing severe impairment, a lung transplant may be the best option. Most people undergoing lung transplant for interstitial lung disease make large gains in quality of life and their ability to exercise.
Azathioprine (Imuran): This drug also suppresses the immune system. It has never been proven to improve interstitial lung disease, but some studies suggest it might help.
N-acetylcysteine (Mucomyst): This potent antioxidant may slow the decline of lung function in some forms of interstitial lung disease. It does not improve people's survival from interstitial lung disease, however.
Other less often-used treatments for interstitial lung disease include:

Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan)
Methotrexate
Cyclosporine

These medicines suppress the immune system significantly. They may be used in some cases of interstitial lung disease while monitoring for side effects.

Reducing inflammation could be helpful. I Googled tumeric and found this article:

(NaturalNews) Turmeric, containing the active ingredient curcumin, is one of nature's most powerful healers. The medicinal properties of this spice have slowly revealed themselves over the centuries. Turmeric is documented as effective in conditions ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's disease. New research is now revealing its benefits as a preventative and treatment for lung, colon, and liver diseases.

Studies and Results – Lung Disease

In the 2007 Journal of Experimental Medicine and Biology researchers report that existing drugs have not been shown to be effective in the treatment of lung conditions resulting from occupational and environmental exposures to mineral dusts, airborne pollutants, cigarette smoke, chemotherapy, radiotherapy an other causes of acute and chronic inflammatory lung disease.

Several experimental animal models tested curcumin on lung fibrosis. Results demonstrated that curcumin attenuates lung injury and fibrosis caused by radiation, chemotherapeutic drugs, and toxicants. The researchers also note that studies support the conclusion that curcumin plays a protective role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute lung injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and allergic asthma. Its therapeutic action is on the prevention or modulation of inflammation and oxidative stress.

Molecular Nutritional and Food Research, March 2008, reports that corticosteroids have been one of the major modes of therapy against various chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, these corticosteroids have failed to be effective against these disease conditions because they don't reduce the effects of oxidation.

Researchers reported that naturally occurring polyphenols in curcumin offer a safer alternative treatment. Curcumin can directly scavenge free radicals such as superoxide anion and nitric oxide, and modulate important signaling pathways. These polyphenols also down-regulate expression of pro-inflammatory mediators, and up-regulate desirable gene expression in the lungs. Researchers concluded that curcumin is a potential therapeutic agent against chronic lung diseases.

Colon disease

In the March edition of Molecular Nutritional Research, mice given an inflammatory agent that normally induces colitis were protected when curcumin was added to their diet five days beforehand. The mice receiving curcumin lost less weight than the control animals. When researchers checked their intestinal cell function, all the typical signs of colitis were greatly reduced. While the researchers are not yet sure exactly how curcumin achieves its protective effects, they think its benefits result from its antioxidant activity as well as its power to inhibit a major cellular inflammatory agent, NF kappa-B.

Another interesting feature of these results is that although curcumin has been found to be safe at very large doses, it was effective in this study at a concentration as low as 0.25 percent, an amount easily supplied by simply enjoying turmeric in your favorite dishes.

Liver disease

In the May 2008 edition of Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery, researchers studied the effects of erythropoietin (a hormone that promotes formation of red blood cells) and granulocyte colony stimulating factor alone or in combination with curcumin, a liver protective antioxidant, in a model of delayed liver regeneration. Rats underwent a 70% liver resection and were grouped according to treatment following surgery.

Twenty four hours after surgery, blood and tissue samples were collected. Markers of liver regeneration, function, and hepatocellular damage were determined. Researchers concluded that erythropoietin alone did not improve liver regeneration. However, the combination of erythropoietin and curcumin resulted in highly significant stimulation of liver regeneration, which was accompanied by reduced oxidative stress.

What is turmeric?

Turmeric (curcuma longa) is the bright yellow of the spice rainbow, and is what gives curry its color. It was traditionally known as Indian saffron. Turmeric is also a powerful medicine that is one of the staples in Chinese and Indian healing. Oil of turmeric has demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory activity in a variety of experimental models. The yellow or orange pigment of turmeric, called curcumin, is more potent than the oil, and is believed to be the primary pharmacological agent in turmeric.

Numerous studies have shown curcumin to be as potent against inflammation as hydrocortisone, phenylbutazone, and over the counter NSAID drugs like Motrin. Unlike these drugs, which are all associated with significant toxic effects, curcumin produces no toxicity.

Additional benefits of turmeric

Curcumin's powerful antioxidant effects make it a popular, natural, therapeutic agent for diseases such as arthritis, where free radicals cause joint inflammation and eventual damage to the joints.

Epidemiological studies have linked frequent use of turmeric to lower rates of breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancer. Curcumin can prevent tumors from forming, and a recent study suggests that even when breast cancer is already present, curcumin can help slow the spread of breast cancer cells to the lungs.

Curcumin is able to do this by acting as a transcription factor, or a master switch. Transcription factors regulate all the genes needed for tumor formation. When they are switched off, the growth and invasion of cancer cells is halted.

Turmeric may prevent the oxidation of cholesterol in the body. It is oxidized cholesterol that damages blood vessels and builds up in the plaque that can lead to heart attack or stroke. Turmeric also contains vitamin B6 which is needed to keep homocysteine levels from getting too high. High homocysteine levels damage blood vessel walls and are considered a significant risk factor for blood vessel damage, atherosclerotic plaque build-up, and heart disease.

Evidence is mounting that turmeric may afford protection against neurodegenerative diseases through its ability to cross the blood brain barrier. Alzheimer's disease is thought to occur when a fragmented protein accumulates in brain cells producing oxidative stress and inflammation, and forming plaque between nerve cells in the brain that disrupt function. Curcumin may prevent this oxidation and inflammation.

Using turmeric

Dried turmeric is widely available, but the best sources may be local spice stores or ethnic markets. Try to select organically grown turmeric since you will then know that it has not been irradiated. Color is not a criterion of quality. Turmeric has a much higher content of curcumin than does curry powder and can often successfully replace curry powder in recipes. Turmeric should be stored in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dark, dry place.

Wonderful recipes using turmeric can be found online. If you're not into cooking, you can easily mix turmeric into rice. It is also a tasty addition to egg salad and brightens its color. If you are doing a cancer preventative version of the Budwig diet, see (http://www.naturalnews.com/022418.html) , you can mix a spoonful into your morning cottage cheese/flax oil combo, and maybe add in some cayenne too.

If you want to take the really easy way, you can buy Turmeric in capsule form, although this is the expensive way to do it. Nature's Way makes the only readily available turmeric extract capsule that is free of magnesium stearate. Although the directions say 1 capsule up to 3 times per day, many natural healers recommend 3 capsules, 3 times a day when you begin, and then reducing the amount as your inflammation decreases.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/023287_tu...#ixzz2lcd68ihd

(NaturalNews) Turmeric, containing the active ingredient curcumin, is one of nature's most powerful healers. The medicinal properties of this spice have slowly revealed themselves over the centuries. Turmeric is documented as effective in conditions ranging from cancer to Alzheimer's disease. New research is now revealing its benefits as a preventative and treatment for lung, colon, and liver diseases.

Studies and Results – Lung Disease

In the 2007 Journal of Experimental Medicine and Biology researchers report that existing drugs have not been shown to be effective in the treatment of lung conditions resulting from occupational and environmental exposures to mineral dusts, airborne pollutants, cigarette smoke, chemotherapy, radiotherapy an other causes of acute and chronic inflammatory lung disease.

Several experimental animal models tested curcumin on lung fibrosis. Results demonstrated that curcumin attenuates lung injury and fibrosis caused by radiation, chemotherapeutic drugs, and toxicants. The researchers also note that studies support the conclusion that curcumin plays a protective role in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, acute lung injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and allergic asthma. Its therapeutic action is on the prevention or modulation of inflammation and oxidative stress.

Molecular Nutritional and Food Research, March 2008, reports that corticosteroids have been one of the major modes of therapy against various chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, these corticosteroids have failed to be effective against these disease conditions because they don't reduce the effects of oxidation.

Researchers reported that naturally occurring polyphenols in curcumin offer a safer alternative treatment. Curcumin can directly scavenge free radicals such as superoxide anion and nitric oxide, and modulate important signaling pathways. These polyphenols also down-regulate expression of pro-inflammatory mediators, and up-regulate desirable gene expression in the lungs. Researchers concluded that curcumin is a potential therapeutic agent against chronic lung diseases.

Colon disease

In the March edition of Molecular Nutritional Research, mice given an inflammatory agent that normally induces colitis were protected when curcumin was added to their diet five days beforehand. The mice receiving curcumin lost less weight than the control animals. When researchers checked their intestinal cell function, all the typical signs of colitis were greatly reduced. While the researchers are not yet sure exactly how curcumin achieves its protective effects, they think its benefits result from its antioxidant activity as well as its power to inhibit a major cellular inflammatory agent, NF kappa-B.

Another interesting feature of these results is that although curcumin has been found to be safe at very large doses, it was effective in this study at a concentration as low as 0.25 percent, an amount easily supplied by simply enjoying turmeric in your favorite dishes.

Liver disease

In the May 2008 edition of Langenbeck's Archives of Surgery, researchers studied the effects of erythropoietin (a hormone that promotes formation of red blood cells) and granulocyte colony stimulating factor alone or in combination with curcumin, a liver protective antioxidant, in a model of delayed liver regeneration. Rats underwent a 70% liver resection and were grouped according to treatment following surgery.

Twenty four hours after surgery, blood and tissue samples were collected. Markers of liver regeneration, function, and hepatocellular damage were determined. Researchers concluded that erythropoietin alone did not improve liver regeneration. However, the combination of erythropoietin and curcumin resulted in highly significant stimulation of liver regeneration, which was accompanied by reduced oxidative stress.

What is turmeric?

Turmeric (curcuma longa) is the bright yellow of the spice rainbow, and is what gives curry its color. It was traditionally known as Indian saffron. Turmeric is also a powerful medicine that is one of the staples in Chinese and Indian healing. Oil of turmeric has demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory activity in a variety of experimental models. The yellow or orange pigment of turmeric, called curcumin, is more potent than the oil, and is believed to be the primary pharmacological agent in turmeric.

Numerous studies have shown curcumin to be as potent against inflammation as hydrocortisone, phenylbutazone, and over the counter NSAID drugs like Motrin. Unlike these drugs, which are all associated with significant toxic effects, curcumin produces no toxicity.

Additional benefits of turmeric

Curcumin's powerful antioxidant effects make it a popular, natural, therapeutic agent for diseases such as arthritis, where free radicals cause joint inflammation and eventual damage to the joints.

Epidemiological studies have linked frequent use of turmeric to lower rates of breast, prostate, lung, and colon cancer. Curcumin can prevent tumors from forming, and a recent study suggests that even when breast cancer is already present, curcumin can help slow the spread of breast cancer cells to the lungs.

Curcumin is able to do this by acting as a transcription factor, or a master switch. Transcription factors regulate all the genes needed for tumor formation. When they are switched off, the growth and invasion of cancer cells is halted.

Turmeric may prevent the oxidation of cholesterol in the body. It is oxidized cholesterol that damages blood vessels and builds up in the plaque that can lead to heart attack or stroke. Turmeric also contains vitamin B6 which is needed to keep homocysteine levels from getting too high. High homocysteine levels damage blood vessel walls and are considered a significant risk factor for blood vessel damage, atherosclerotic plaque build-up, and heart disease.

Evidence is mounting that turmeric may afford protection against neurodegenerative diseases through its ability to cross the blood brain barrier. Alzheimer's disease is thought to occur when a fragmented protein accumulates in brain cells producing oxidative stress and inflammation, and forming plaque between nerve cells in the brain that disrupt function. Curcumin may prevent this oxidation and inflammation.

Using turmeric

Dried turmeric is widely available, but the best sources may be local spice stores or ethnic markets. Try to select organically grown turmeric since you will then know that it has not been irradiated. Color is not a criterion of quality. Turmeric has a much higher content of curcumin than does curry powder and can often successfully replace curry powder in recipes. Turmeric should be stored in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dark, dry place.

Wonderful recipes using turmeric can be found online. If you're not into cooking, you can easily mix turmeric into rice. It is also a tasty addition to egg salad and brightens its color. If you are doing a cancer preventative version of the Budwig diet, see (http://www.naturalnews.com/022418.html) , you can mix a spoonful into your morning cottage cheese/flax oil combo, and maybe add in some cayenne too.

If you want to take the really easy way, you can buy Turmeric in capsule form, although this is the expensive way to do it. Nature's Way makes the only readily available turmeric extract capsule that is free of magnesium stearate. Although the directions say 1 capsule up to 3 times per day, many natural healers recommend 3 capsules, 3 times a day when you begin, and then reducing the amount as your inflammation decreases.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/023287_tu...#ixzz2lcd68ihd