UAB has been selected as a LAM Clinic by the LAM Foundation, joining 22 other sites in the country designated by the foundation to provide services to patients with pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). Joseph Barney, M.D., assistant professor in the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care Medicine, is the clinic director.
LAM is characterized by the proliferation of atypical pulmonary interstitial smooth muscle and by the formation of cysts. It is considered more akin to emphysema than interstitial lung disease. It is an incurable condition that primarily affects women of child-bearing age. Barney says the clinic is designed to provide multidisciplinary care for patients and support for their families.
The LAM clinic will operate Monday and Friday afternoons at the Kirklin Clinic.
Many cases of LAM are idiopathic, but it also can occur in women who have tuberous sclerosis complex. Barney notes, “We are collaborating with Martina Bebin in neurology on a clinical trial for patients with LAM and tuberous sclerosis and will begin new randomized trials for therapeutics for LAM this year as part of the 22-clinic LAM Foundation clinical network.”