Magdalena Kegel,  —

By discovering how the antifibrotic treatments Ofev (nintedanib) and Esbriet (pirfenidone) work, researchers hope to develop even better drugs to treat pulmonary fibrosis. The new insights into these drugs work was gained by making use of a new cell model of lab-grown cells derived from patients. The study,…

Shorter telomeres — the DNA regions that protect the ends of chromosomes — are linked to lower survival rates in pulmonary fibrosis (PF) patients who receive a lung transplant. These patients’ lungs start failing sooner than those of other patients, suggesting that telomere length may be a factor to consider…

A molecular cascade that prompts stem cells used in lung transplants to drive fibrotic processes is responsible for the low survival rates of patients who obtain transplants, according to a study. The research also identified potential treatments to slow the fibrosis or scarring process. The good news is that is that the…

Researchers discovered a molecule that promotes lung fibrosis by integrating large amounts of data from patients, cell experiments, and animal models. They also used a big data approach to identify a potential treatment that targets the factor — a cancer therapy that is already in clinical trials. The study,…

Measuring disease-associated factors in sputum may be a less invasive way of tracking molecular changes in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) than bronchoalveolar washing, which involves sucking material from the lungs with a syringe, according to a study. Researchers found several factors in IPF patients at higher levels than in healthy people…

Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) who rapidly gain weight may have a poorer prognosis than those with lesser weight gains, particularly if they never smoked. Researchers also linked to poorer survival a notable decline in lung function with one year, and a jump in the number of hospitalizations for airway problems. The study,…

A lung fibrosis treatment based on a shark antibody is on the verge of entering a first clinical trial in patients. The treatment has shown promise in animal models of fibrosis, and offers hope for a therapy that is superior to current treatment approaches for lung fibrosis. Developed by Australian-based AdAlta, the compound is a…

By developing a drug that blocks a molecule — going under the curious name, porcupine — Redx Pharma hopes to develop a new kind of treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The company’s porcupine program also aims to come up with drugs that can improve responses to cancer immunotherapy. “We’re…

A case report illustrates the possibility of treating cancer patients who develop bleomycin-triggered lung disease with Esbriet (pirfenidone) — a drug approved for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) treatment. Researchers acknowledged that further studies are needed, but they said combining Esbriet and corticosteroid drugs could completely reverse lung disease and prevent…

The immune factor CCL8 could be a diagnostic marker of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and it might be useful in predicting patients’ survival times, a recent study reports. Researchers at the Soonchunhyang Graduate School and University Hospital in Korea published the study, “Gene profile of…