Carolina Alumni Review - January/February 2011

Doctors know
relatively little

percent of cases,

including

those of the

Richardson
relatives, have a
‘strong familial
connection.’
The rest,
researchers
suspect, are
related to
environmental
conditions.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF TERESA BARNES

Administration to pay more attention to pulmonary fibrosis.

‘Frightened out of their wits’

Doctors know relatively little about pulmonary fibrosis. In the pyramid of lung diseases, it breaks down into two broad categories. Ten to 15 percent of cases, including those of the Richardson relatives, have a “strong familial connection,” according to UNC’s Donohue. The rest are known as idiopathic — researchers suspect they are related to environmental conditions.

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis
says that lung irritation may be responsible
for the onset of the disease in idiopathic
cases. Barnes noted that common denomi-
nators — such as exposure to jet fuel and
other chemicals, bird dander and heavy
amounts of dust — are often present. (One
example: There has been a significant num-
ber of pulmonary fibrosis cases among the
first responders to the terrorist attacks in
New York on Sept. 11, 2001.) Smoking is a
high-risk factor, and there is evidence that
pharmaceuticals used to treat other diseases
may contribute to the lung damage central
to pulmonary fibrosis.

Hollis Richardson had four siblings, Bruce, Maurice, Lucy and Billy -- pulmonary fibrosis killed every one of them. At top, from left, are Bruce, Hollis and Maurice, a Carolina dental school graduate.