2018
Overview
Emphysema is a chronic, progressive lung disease in which the walls of the alveoli, the tiny air sacs where gas exchange occurs, are damaged and destroyed, causing them to merge into larger, less efficient spaces. This loss of surface area and elasticity reduces the lungs' ability to transfer oxygen into the bloodstream and to expel air, leading to shortness of breath, reduced exercise tolerance, fatigue, and difficulty breathing that worsens over time. Emphysema is a major component of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and is most commonly caused by long-term exposure to tobacco smoke and other airborne irritants, though genetic factors such as alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency can also contribute. Although the damage to lung tissue is irreversible, management focuses on slowing progression, relieving symptoms, and improving quality of life through measures such as smoking cessation, medications, pulmonary rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, and, in selected cases, surgical or bronchoscopic lung volume reduction. Research published in this journal's network has examined bronchoscopic lung volume reduction using one-way valves in patients with severe emphysema, as well as the classification and phenotyping of COPD. This page gathers peer-reviewed, open-access research relevant to emphysema and related respiratory conditions within the broad scope of the journal Respiratory Diseases.
Research published in this journal
4 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.
2018
2017
2018
How this research is being cited
The 4 articles above have been cited 1 time in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Oct 2025.
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2014 · Journal Of Aging Research And Healthcare
A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Emphysema, linking to each citing work.