Pulmonology

Pulmonology or pneumology is an area of medicine that focuses on diseases involving the respiratory tract. It is also known as respirology, respiratory medicine, or chest medicine in some countries and areas. Pulmonology is closely related to critical care medicine and often involves managing patients who need life support and mechanical ventilation. Pulmonary diseases are usually be caused by certain infections caused by smoking tobacco, or by breathing in secondhand tobacco smoke, asbestos, radon, and various other forms of air pollution.

According to a report by the World Health Organization, deaths due to pulmonary diseases in India have been on the rise, accounting for 11 percent of the total deaths. India bears 32 percent of the global burden of respiratory diseases, out of which COPD and Asthma are responsible for 75.6% and 20.0% of chronic respiratory diseases.

Asthma causes swelling of the airways, which results in the narrowing of airways carrying air from the nose and mouths to the lungs. Common symptoms include trouble in breathing, wheezing, coughing, and tightness in the chest. On the other hand, COPD, or Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease sometimes leads to the development of heart diseases, lung cancer and several other conditions.

IL-4, IL-5, IL-9, and IL-13 shows a potential pathogenic role and are secretory products of stimulated macrophages and other cells. Increased levels of these cytokines result in inflammation in the respiratory tract including trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, alveoli, pleural cavity, and muscle respiration. Our intervention is through RNAi which is the process of sequence-specific, transcriptional gene silencing through RNA. It is a method of controlling gene expression and has the potential for the development of drugs for pulmonary lung disease.

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