WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF LYMPHANGIOLEIOMYOMATOSIS?
A common symptom of LAM is shortness of breath (dyspnea) with physical activity. In the early stages of disease, the person with LAM may experience shortness of breath only during strenuous exercise, but as the disease advances, there may be shortness of breath even at rest. Another common symptom is chest pain, and occasionally patients cough up small amounts of blood. The symptoms associated with LAM are caused by the excessive growth of the muscle cells around the airways, and blood and lymph vessels. The excess muscle cells can block the airways, trapping air in the smallest air compartments in the lung (alveoli) and causing the person with LAM to have difficulty moving air out of the lungs. This results in a breakdown of the lung tissue and the formation of small cysts (air filled cavities).
Cysts near or on the surface of the lung (blebs) can rupture and, as air leaks from the lung into the chest cavity (pneumothorax), the lung or a part of the lung can collapse, causing pain. If the amount of air that leaks out is small, the lung may seal over the space and re-expand itself. If air continues to leak into the chest cavity, however, it may be necessary to re-expand the collapsed portion of the lung by removing the air that has leaked into the chest cavity. This is an in-patient procedure, done using a tube inserted through the chest wall into the chest cavity. The excessive muscle growth may also block blood vessels in the lung, causing them to become distended with blood and even to rupture. This can result in the patient coughing up blood-stained sputum or blood (hemoptysis). Obstruction of the lymphatic vessels by the excess muscle growth can lead to leakage of fluid into the chest cavity (pleural effusion). The fluid may be straw-colored (lymph), or fat-containing, milky white (chyle), or pinkish-red if it contains blood. A physician can remove some of this fluid with a needle and syringe to determine its composition and origin. If large amounts of fluid accumulate in the chest cavity, it may have to be removed through a tube surgically inserted into the chest. It is estimated that 30 to 50 percent of LAM patients will develop leakage of air into the chest cavity (pneumothorax), and up to 80 percent will have leakage of fluid into the chest cavity (pleural effusions). Coughing up blood-stained sputum or blood (hemoptysis) occurs less frequently.