Magdalena Kegel,  —

Magdalena is a writer with a passion for bridging the gap between the people performing research, and those who want or need to understand it. She writes about medical science and drug discovery. She holds an MS in Pharmaceutical Bioscience and a PhD — spanning the fields of psychiatry, immunology, and neuropharmacology — from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

Articles by Magdalena Kegel

Small Peptide Shows Promise in Reducing Lung Fibrosis in a Mouse Model

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina found that M10, a naturally occurring small peptide, appeared to effectively reduce lung fibrosis in a mouse model of systemic sclerosis, a finding that might lead the way to new treatments for lung fibrosis. Systemic sclerosis can be viewed as the archetypal fibrotic disease,…

Peptide Shown to Protect Against Lung Fibrosis in PF-Treated Mice

C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is already known to protect against fibrosis in heart tissue. Researchers from the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Japan, have now shown that CNP can also improve lung fibrosis in a mouse model by preventing the formation of myofibroblasts. Given the importance of fibroblast cells in the…

Interstitial PF Flares in Hospital Stays Seen to Raise Morbidity Risk in Non-IPF Patients, Too

A Mayo Clinic study reported that patients with fibrotic interstitial lung disease are at a threefold higher risk of substantial morbidity when hospitalized for acute lung exacerbations, whether or not they have idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). While the frequency and outcomes of acute respiratory exacerbations in IPF patients are rather well-documented, corresponding…

IPF May Have Varied and Complex Genetic Roots

Genetic factors might drive at least part of the risk for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), particularly in familial forms of the disease, and a review from the Nanjing University School of Medicine, China, presented an updated view of genetic risk factors for IPF. The article, “Candidate genes of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis:…