Restrictive lung diseases may be due to specific causes which can be intrinsic to the parenchyma of the lung, or extrinsic to it.
Intrinsic
* Asbestosis caused by long-term exposure to asbestos dust.* Radiation fibrosis, usually from the radiation given for cancer treatment.
* Certain drugs such as amiodarone, bleomycin and methotrexate.
* As a consequence of another disease such as rheumatoid arthritis.
* Hypersensitivity pneumonitis due to an allergic reaction to inhaled particles.
* Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a severe lung condition occurring in response to a critical illness or injury.
* Infant respiratory distress syndrome due to a deficiency of surfactant in the lungs of a baby born prematurely.
Many cases of restrictive lung disease are idiopathic (have no known cause). Still, there is generally pulmonary fibrosis. Examples are:
* Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis
* Idiopathic interstitial pneumonia, of which there are several types
* Sarcoidosis
* Eosinophilic pneumonia
* Lymphangioleiomyomatosis
* Pulmonary Langerhan’s cell histiocytosis
* Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis
Conditions specifically affecting the interstitium are called interstitial lung diseases.
Extrinsic
* Neuromuscular diseases, including Myasthenia gravis, and Guillain barre* Nonmuscular diseases of the chest wall, e.g. kyphosis, and obesity.
See Also
*Obstructive lung disease*Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Adapted from the Wikipedia article Restrictive lung disease, under the G. N. U. Free Documentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
