Patricia Inácio, PhD, science writer —

During 2020, Pulmonary Fibrosis News held to its mission of providing daily coverage of breakthrough discoveries, promising therapies, clinical trials, and other news related to pulmonary fibrosis (PF). As we look forward to continuing to bring news and relevant information to patients, family members, and caregivers dealing with PF…

Procalcitonin, a precursor of the calcitonin hormone, may be used as a potential biomarker of lung cancer developing in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a recent study suggests. Compared with patients with IPF alone, procalcitonin was significantly higher in IPF patients who also had lung…

Research investigating the role of immune cells in triggering lung and heart rejection following transplant will be supported by $10 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The grants, awarded to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, will support research that aims…

A gene therapy that lengthens the life of lung cells can halt scarring and help sustain lung regeneration in a mouse model of age-related pulmonary fibrosis, a new study shows. The study, “Telomerase treatment prevents lung profibrotic pathologies associated with physiological aging,” was published in the Journal…

Veracyte’s Envisia Genomic Classifier can aid in the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and distinguish it from other interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) without the need for invasive, expensive, and risky surgical procedures, real-world data confirm. These findings were presented in two posters at the American Thoracic…

Note: This story was updated Aug. 11, 2020, to correct the name of the factor involved in fibrosis to TGF-alpha rather than TNF-alpha. Barasertib, AstraZeneca’s investigational inhibitor of the AURKB protein, eased the activation of fibroblasts and lessened lung scarring in two mouse models of idiopathic pulmonary…

A three-year pulmonary rehabilitation program — a combination of aerobic, resistance, and breathing exercises — helped to maintain lung and muscle strength before a double-lung transplant in a middle-aged man with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and a sedentary lifestyle, a case study reports. The study “Long-Term…

Exposure to secondhand smoke, dust, or asbestos in the workplace is linked to a significantly higher risk of developing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to findings of an Australian study. These results suggest that “the burden of IPF could be reduced by intensified tobacco control, occupational dust control measures…

Researchers have discovered the existence of unique subtypes of epithelial cells in the lungs of people with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) that may drive tissue scarring, or fibrosis. Their findings were published in the study, “Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals profibrotic roles of distinct epithelial and mesenchymal lineages in pulmonary…

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients taking antifibrotic therapies Ofev (nintedanib) or Esbriet (pirfenidone) had a mortality risk that was 37% lower than patients not treated with such therapies, a large registry-based study reports. The study, “Survival and Course of Lung Function in the Presence or Absence of Antifibrotic Treatment…