The University of Miami Health System-UHealth has been selected as one of only 15 sites in the country to open a clinic for patients with lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM). UHealth was selected by the LAM Foundation because of its diverse team of specialists with expertise in the rare disease.

LAM is a progressive and frequently fatal lung disease that almost exclusively affects young women, usually during their childbearing years. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, cough, collapsed lung, chest pains and/or fatigue.

The foundation's criteria for recognition mandate that the clinic sites have the capacity to accurately diagnose and treat the disease as well as manage its many complications. These include pulmonary dysfunction, pneumothoraces, chylous pleural effusions, and urologic, neurologic and dermatological manifestations.

The clinic, located at the University of Miami Hospital and Clinics, includes a wide range of specialists including pulmonologists, radiologists, pathologists, cardiothoracic surgeons, respiratory therapists and nutritionists.

The clinic is under the medical direction of Marilyn Glassberg, M.D., associate professor of medicine, one of the country's leading experts on LAM.

"We are very pleased to become a part of the LAM clinical research group," said Dr. Glassberg. "This will continue to support our current research efforts toward a treatment for women with lymphangioleiomyomatosis."