Note: This column describes the author’s own experiences with Protonix (pantoprazole), Prograf (tacrolimus), Rapamune (sirolimus), and Forteo (teriparatide injection). Not everyone will have the same response to treatment. Consult your doctor before starting or stopping a therapy. Pulmonary fibrosis patients, no matter where they are in their journey, require…
New IPF therapy modulates genes tied to inflammation and scarring
Years before my husband, Donnie, first began having breathing troubles, he suffered from stiff, achy muscles and exhaustion. Each night, he’d come home from work exhausted, sore, and discouraged by the pain his body was experiencing. At first, he attributed his discomfort to residual soreness from working in a high-paced…
Activity levels of four genes linked to the Notch signaling pathway — which helps regulate cell growth, tissue repair, and immune responses in the body — may serve as blood-based biomarkers that could aid in the early diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Those are the findings of a…
I’ve been writing recently about the four pillars of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation’s (PFF) new five-year strategic plan introduced last year, called “The PFF Is ME.” In December, I explained the first pillar, Accelerate Research. The second pillar, Expand Access to Expert Care, is a concern for…
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has awarded orphan drug designation to Rein Therapeutics’ lead drug candidate, LTI-03, which is being developed to help preserve lung function in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The designation follows a positive opinion from the EMA’s Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, which evaluates…
Artificial intelligence (AI) touches many aspects of both our professional and personal lives. One of the earliest recognitions of AI dates back more than 75 years to when Alan Turing, an English mathematician and computer scientist, pondered the question, “Can machines think?” Today, the answer seems closer to…
On New Year’s Day, my daughters and I created vision boards for 2026. If you haven’t made one before, a vision board is a collage of images, quotes, and art that captures your goals and intentions for the year. We spent about an hour cutting pictures from old magazines and…
Treatment with the experimental oral therapy GRI-0621 modulated immune cell activity in adults with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in an early Phase 2a clinical trial, according to new data announced by its developer, Gri Bio. Data from the Phase 2a study (NCT06331624) broadly suggest that GRI-0621 is…
If you’re a regular reader of my column, you’ve likely heard me say before that transplant patients commit to a lifetime of medical surveillance. I was diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) on the last day of January in 2017. Until then, I didn’t see my primary care…
