News

Lung Remodeling Process in IPF Includes Both Traction Bronchiectasis and Honeycombing, Study Suggests

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…

Lung Fibrosis Increases Levels of Specific Surface Proteins, Suggests Disease Markers

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…

Lung Transplants at Loyola Center Give 2 Pulmonary Fibrosis Patients New Hope

After reading a story in a newspaper, Cloyd Goley of Farmersville, Ohio, who has pulmonary fibrosis, felt newly hopeful. The article, published in the Dayton Daily News, told the story of the Rev. Joseph Kyles, a Chicago minister with  pulmonary fibrosis who was able to return to his work after undergoing a double-lung transplant. “It’s…

Enhanced Stratification of IPF Patients Could Lead to Better Personalized Treatment

Patient stratification to deliver personalized medicine has become a routine practice in oncology that may be of great help in understanding and managing pulmonary diseases, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Supported by a deep understanding of a disease,  stratification is a process that categorizes patients into subgroups according to disease progression,…

Case Study Looks at Difficulties in Treating Both Pulmonary Fibrosis and Emphysema in a Patient

Doctors rarely see patients with symptoms of both pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema, but those who do quickly learn that these patients chart a very different clinical course than those with either condition. A case study by researchers at  Deccan College of Medical Sciences in India and the University of Florida underscores this, detailing a patient with combined pulmonary fibrosis…

Phase 2a Study to Evaluate Drug for IPF That Might Improve Blood Oxygen Levels

Global Blood Therapeutics is initiating a Phase 2a clinical trial to assess its oral drug GBT440, an investigational hemoglobin modifier, as a daily treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and hypoxemia. Hypoxemia, or low blood oxygen levels, results in an insufficient amount of oxygen reaching the tissues (hypoxia). It is a leading cause of clinical decline in IPF…

Bellerophon Enrolls 1st PAH Patient in Phase 3 Study of INOpulse Device

Bellerophon Therapeutics recently announced that the Phase 3 INOvation-1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of the INOpulse delivery of nitric oxide (NO) in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) has enrolled its first patient. In addition, the company is developing two other INOpulse devices, which may be used to treat patients…