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…
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 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…
Circulating levels of two biomarkers — matrix metalloproteinase-7 (MMP-7) and Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) — may be effective predictors of disease progression and survival in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to the study, “Comparative Study of Circulating MMP-7, CCL18, KL-6, SP-A, and SP-D as Disease…
Auto-immunity may have a role in the development of fibrotic idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (fIIP), a disease once thought to result solely from environmental factors. New research suggests a possible genetic link, associating two variants of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele to an increased risk of fIIP. The study, “Genome-wide…
Salvianolic acid B, a compound isolated from red sage and a main component of the traditional Chinese medicine known as Yiqihuoxue formula, prevented fibrotic changes both in bleomycin-treated mice and in cell culture models. These findings indicate the compound may be worth exploring as a less toxic alternative to treating fibrosis. Traditional Chinese medicine is…
Merck is acquiring Afferent Pharmaceuticals — including its therapeutic candidates targeting the P2X3 receptor, now in clinical testing for neurogenic conditions that include chronic respiratory diseases — under a definitive agreement announced by the two companies. A lead investigational drug developed by Afferent, AF-219, is under evaluation in a Phase 2b dose-escalating study (…
A study from the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Liège at Sart Tilman recently reported that two growth factors, IGFBP-1 and IGFBP-2, are increased in the blood of untreated patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). People receiving treatment had lower IGFBP-2 levels that those who were not treated, indicating the factors might be…
Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) often exhibit cardiovascular manifestations that affect patients’ morbidity and mortality according to the study”Cardiac manifestations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,” published in Intractable and Rare Diseases Research. The authors reviewed evidence that links cardiovascular diseases to IPF and how the co-morbidities…
The Germany-based global pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim recently announced the establishment of a research alliance with the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) to discover new targets for treating fibrotic diseases, such as chronic kidney disease (CKD), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The collaborative project, called Harvard Fibrosis Network, is…
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