Medical uses. Plants of the genus Ephedra, including E. sinica and others, have traditionally been used by indigenous people for a variety of medicinal purposes, including treatment of asthma, hay fever, and the common cold. The alkaloids ephedrine and pseudoephedrine are active constituents of E. sinica and other members of the genus.
People with moderate to severe, stage 2 and 3 emphysema, have a life expectancy of five years or more with intensive treatments. People with end-stage, stage 4 emphysema, have little time to live, even with treatment [source: No More Smokes].herefore, the prognosis of emphysema is not favorable. The average life expectancy for someone with emphysema is five years. Your life expectancy drops to two years, however, if you donât seek treatment and/or you do not quit smoking [source: Health Information Directory].
Emphysema is a chronic respiratory disease where there is over-inflation of the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs, causing a decrease in lung function, and often, breathlessness.n the early stages of emphysema, the only result may be dysfunction of the small airways. Patients with emphysema may show an increase in the total amount of air that is in the lungs (total lung capacity), but a decrease in the amount of air that can be breathed out after taking a deep breath (vital capacity).