Conditions We Treat

When the body’s immune system reacts to a foreign substance like a particular food, pet dander or medication, it’s called an allergy.

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency is a genetic disease (passed from parent to child) that can cause serious lung and liver diseases. This occurs when the liver doesn’t make enough alpha-1 protein, which protects the lungs from infection and inflammation. Symptoms, like shortness of breath, typically begin in the 20s or 30s.

Amyloid is an abnormal protein that can build up in various organs and tissues of the body, causing a rare disease called amyloidosis. While there is not a cure for amyloidosis, there are treatments to help control the production of amyloid in the body.

Asthma is a chronic disease marked by difficulty with breathing. Asthma causes a narrowing of the airways, resulting in wheezing, coughing, tightness in the chest and shortness of breath.

Bronchiectasis is a lung disease which causes frequent cough and phlegm, along with repeated infections that may lead to permanent damage of the lungs.

Bronchogenic cysts are abnormal growths of tissue that are congenital (present from birth). They typically have thin walls and are filled with fluid or mucous. Most bronchogenic cysts are found in the mediastinum, the part of the chest cavity that separates the lungs.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a lung disease caused by damage to the lungs over a long period of time, usually due to smoking. Symptoms include coughing and shortness of breath, and because it takes many years to see symptoms, COPD occurs most often in people over 60 and gets worse over time.

The diaphragm is a dome-shaped muscle located between the abdomen and the chest cavity (thorax). It allows air to flow in and out of the lungs by decreasing pressure in the lungs and helping the rib cage expand when one inhales. Tumors can develop in the diaphragm, which can be malignant (cancerous) or benign (non-cancerous). These tumors may originate in the diaphragm or spread from elsewhere.

The diaphragm, the main muscle involved in breathing, separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities. When a person inhales, it decreases pressure in the lungs and helps expand the rib cage. As with any organ or muscle, the diaphragm is subject to disorders and abnormalities, which come in many different forms and can stem from injury or illness.

An embolism is when a blood vessel is blocked, usually by a blood clot that formed in another part of the body.

Esophageal cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in the esophagus, which is a flexible tube connecting the throat to the stomach. Generally between 10 and 13 inches long, the esophagus contracts when one swallows, to push food down into the stomach. Mucus helps move this process along.

The inflammatory myopathies (dermatomyositis and polymyositis) are autoimmune diseases that target the muscles. This leads to weakness and elevated levels of creatine kinase (CK), a type of protein. Patients with dermatomyositis often have skin rashes that can be disfiguring and very sensitive to sun exposure. Patients with inflammatory myositis often have other autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and scleroderma.

Lung disease is marked by the scarring of lung tissue that gets progressively worse, making it hard to breath. Scarring can be caused by long-term exposure to hazardous material like asbestos, and some autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, are causes as well.

Neurosarcoidosis is a rare, chronic neuroinflammatory condition. The disease may affect any part of the nervous system and symptoms vary greatly from person to person and even from flare to flare. Left untreated, the disease has the potential to cause nervous damage and severe disability.

The Primary Immunodeficiency Clinic diagnoses and cares for patients with immunological conditions for which the cause is unknown. This includes patients with frequent infections and inflammatory and autoimmune diseases that do not respond to treatment. Boston Medical Center immunologists provide cutting-edge autoimmune testing and treatment, including immunoglobulin replacement therapy, precision immunomodulatory infusions, and prophylactic anti-infective agents. Patients with primary immunodeficiency also have the opportunity to participate in clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health, Immune Deficiency Foundation, and other organizations.

Pulmonary hypertension is a type of high blood pressure that affects the lungs and right side of the heart. It begins when tiny arteries in the lungs become narrowed or blocked, causing the right ventricle in the heart to pump harder. It is a serious, progressive disease with no cure.

When a cancerous tumor begins in one part of the body and then spreads into a lung, it becomes a pulmonary metastasis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common type of autoimmune arthritis. It is caused when the immune system (the body’s defense system) is not working properly. RA causes pain and swelling in the wrist and small joints of the hand and feet. Treatments for RA can stop joint pain and swelling, as well as prevent joint damage.

Sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that affects multiple organs in the body, but mostly the lungs and lymph glands. Several of the team’s physicians specialize in the diagnosis and management of sarcoidosis and interstitial lung disease. They work collaboratively with other specialists at Boston Medical Center to provide comprehensive treatment for the many manifestations of sarcoidosis, including those to the heart, skin, and central nervous system.

An individual with sleep apnea experiences breathing that stops and starts during the sleep cycle. The two main types of sleep apnea are central sleep apnea, when the brain isn’t sending the right signals to the muscles that control breathing, and obstructive sleep apnea, when the throat muscles relax.