People with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) and other chronic lung disorders should strictly limit social contact during the global spread of the respiratory illness COVID-19, a pulmonary expert said. Rahat Hussain, MD, a pulmonologist and assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas (UT) Health Science Center…
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A class of molecules called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tissue metalloproteinase inhibitors (TIMPs) show promise as biomarkers of the presence of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a new study. MMPs and TIMPs are present at elevated levels in the bloodstream of IPF patients, and…
First, the bad news: If you’re one of the 30 million or so Americans with a rare disease, you probably have lower immunity to the novel coronavirus than most people. Now, the good news: You already know how to face loneliness and adversity — qualities that make you far stronger…
Algernon Pharmaceuticals announced that it submitted a request for the final approval needed to open a Phase 2 clinical trial in Australia evaluating NP-120 (ifenprodil), a repurposed compound, as a treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and…
A protein fragment produced by bacteria commonly found in the lungs of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) promotes lung cell death and acute exacerbations, a study shows. “We discovered salt-loving bacteria in the lungs of patients with pulmonary fibrosis, and these bacteria secrete a peptide [a protein fragment] that marks…
Engineered models of the lung and trachea replicate the cellular dynamics found in living organisms better than other models used to study these cells in culture, a new study suggests. These engineered artificial lungs and tracheas may be more suitable to study cell-based therapies for lung diseases like pulmonary fibrosis,…
At 3 a.m. on July 6, 2003, Miami resident Jeffrey Goldstein got a call that would change his life. Doctors at the Duke University Lung Transplant Clinic had found a lung donor match for Goldstein, who had been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis two years earlier.
The Living Rare, Living Stronger Patient and Family Forum, originally set for May 14–16 in Cleveland, Ohio, has been postponed until July 18–20 because of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic. The event’s sponsor, the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD), said it will still take place at the…
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is associated with a substantial economic burden in the United States, especially for patients who require hospitalization, intensive care, or a lung transplant, a study based on registry data reported. Annual average costs for 3.9 days in a hospital by patients in this study was…
Ofev (nintedanib) limits the decline in lung function in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), regardless of the degree of impairment in gas exchange in their lungs, a study suggests. According to the researchers in the study, “these data support the use of [Ofev] in patients with IPF…
