What causes interstitial lung disease?
Tissues in the body respond to injury with an influx of cells and proteins that repair the injury and leave a well-organized scar. This initial influx is called inflammation, and the subsequent scar formation, fibrosis. Inflammation naturally progresses to fibrosis and is usually a self-limited and effective tissue repair mechanism. Indeed, small areas of fibrosis in the lung are common residua of old infections or surgeries and generally cause no lasting harm to the individual. Interstitial lung disease results from chronic and/or widespread involvement of the lung by inflammation and fibrosis. There are several reasons why the lung may experience increased inflammation and fibrosis [1]: ยท Genetics: There are certain genetic diseases that have a strong association with ILD (e.g., Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, tuberous sclerosis), and several genes have been associated with ILD (e.g., surfactant protein C, telomerase). These diseases and genes may predispose the lungs to injury, leading t
