Pulmonary Disease
Pulmonary disease is any condition or disease that affects the function of the lungs.  Doctors define three types of pulmonary diseases, all of which have different symptoms and etiologies.

• Obstructive Lung Disease—this involves an impairment in the exhalation phase of the lungs caused by narrowing of the large to middle-sized airways and includes diseases like emphysema, asthma and chronic bronchitis.
• Restrictive Lunge Disease—this involves a lessening of the total air volume that the lungs can occupy.  This is due to a reduction in the elasticity of the lungs, leading to stiff lungs and a problem with the ability of the chest wall to expand during inhalation.
• Diseases resulting in an inability to move oxygen from the air sacs to the person’s bloodstream.

Most of the diseases of the lung involve a combination of all three categories.  For example, emphysema involves airflow blockage along with oxygenation difficulties.
Obstructive lung disease includes COPD, chronic bronchitis and asthma.  The primary cause of the chronic diseases is long term smoking and, in fact, 15-20% of longstanding smokers will come down with COPD.  Some nonsmokers with alpha-1 antitrypsin disease will develop obstructive lung disease on a genetic basis.  Additional risk factors for COPD include occupational exposure to certain gases or fumes, exposure to secondhand smoke and pollution or the frequent use of cooking gas in the absence of any ventilation. 
Common symptoms of chronic obstructive lung disease include a frequent cough, poor exercise intolerance, being short of breath and having expiratory wheezes.  The diagnosis of the disease is made with a breathing test, an exam and an XRAY of the chest.  Low blood levels of oxygen also indicate the presence of moderately severe COPD. 
Treatment of COPD and related disorders involves using inhalers that open up the bronchial airways.  Theophylline is also sometimes used as is inhaled steroids, which control the inflammation of the airways.  During bacterial flare-ups, antibiotics are used and because of its antioxidant property, glutathione is believed to play a positive role in obstructive lung disease.  Oxygen is used in severe cases of COPD. 
Restrictive Lung Disease
Restrictive lung disease is a lung disorder than makes it difficult to expand the lungs or breathe in and occasionally makes it difficult for the lungs to get sufficient oxygen.  Common restrictive lung diseases include sarcoidosis and extra-pulmonary disease such as scoliosis.
Interstitial lung disease involves both the lung parenchyma and the lung connective tissue.  The parenchyma is the covering to the lung tissue.  The connective tissue is the type of tissue holding the air sacs together.  These areas become inflamed, fibrosis occurs and the disease is not reversible.  In severe cases, the blood flow to the lungs is impaired and the oxygenation is affected.   
The causes of interstitial or restrictive lung disease include occupational and environmental exposure to inhaled substances such as gases, dust, fumes or dangerous aerosols.  Exposure to radiation, poisons and certain drugs can contribute to the disease. 
The treatment of restrictive or interstitial lung disease includes avoiding the cause, coughing effectively, steroids, supplemental oxygen therapy, bronchodilator treatment and getting an annual flu shot.  Because of its antioxidant properties, some patients do very well with glutathione as a means of improving the redox reaction.