News

Researchers in Japan identified several risk factors for an acute exacerbation, or sudden disease worsening, in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), including cardiovascular disease and older age, especially in men. The study, “Risk factors for an acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,“ was published on July 11 in the journal…

A new review covering the benefits of exercise training in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has been recently published in the journal Breathe.

A biochemical pathway in the lungs, in which an antioxidant called glutathione (GSH) binds to and changes the nature of specific proteins, may be involved in the development of pulmonary fibrosis, according to researchers at the University of Vermont. The study, “Attenuation of lung fibrosis in mice with a clinically relevant…

Windtree Therapeutics announced it has received $1 million as a third payment under a Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant, worth in total about $3 million. The award is being used to advance preclinical testing of its aerosolized KL4 surfactant to ease radiation-induced lung injury, whose long-term effects can lead to…

Dr. Fernando Martinez, a clinical specialist in lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is the newest member of the scientific and medical advisory board of ProterixBio, the company announced. His appointment as scientific and medical advisor reflects the company’s focus on solutions to improve care…

University of California, San Francisco, researchers reported that markers of cellular senescence — a process preventing cells from multiplying uncontrollably — are overly abundant in cells lining lung alveoli in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The study, “miR-34 miRNAs Regulate Cellular Senescence in Type II Alveolar Epithelial…

Lowering the numbers of interleukin-10 (IL-10)-producing immune B-cells in a mouse model protected the animals from developing fibrosis after exposure to silica, according to a recent report by researchers in China. The study, “Role of IL-10-producing regulatory B cells in modulating T-helper cell immune responses during silica-induced lung…

Researchers from The Netherlands found that mice producing high levels of protein C which prevents blood coagulation, develop less severe pulmonary fibrosis; and the milder disease course is linked to lower numbers of immune cells in the lung. The study, “High endogenous activated protein C levels attenuates bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis,“ published in…

Two clinical hallmarks of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), traction bronchiectasis and honeycombing, may be aspects of one continuous process of lung remodeling rather than distinct entities, as previously thought, according to researchers in Italy. Traction bronchiectasis refers to an irreversible dilation of bronchi, and honeycombing to the diffuse pulmonary…

A recent study published in the journal PLOS One, found two members of a class of proteins called surfactant proteins (SPs) at increased levels as a result of lung fibrosis and suggests that future studies could reveal the proteins, SP-A and SP-D,  as markers of disease severity. Pulmonary emphysema and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are defined…