News

Genetic screening that can identify variants of the mucin-causing MUC5B gene — the key risk factor that predisposes people for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) — may hold the key to the development and administration of targeted therapies that may prevent the disease before it can progress…

Surgery is the most effective option to treat lung cancer in people with less severe idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a Korean study has found. For IPF patients who have a poorer prognosis (more advanced GAP stages), researchers recommend accounting for cancer clinical stage and estimated tolerability…

Esbriet (pirfenidone) shows similar benefits for people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in real-world settings as it does in clinical trials, a new study shows. “Pirfenidone in real life: A retrospective observational multicentre study in Italian patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis” was published in the journal…

The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) and Three Lakes Partners are joining forces in the fight against pulmonary fibrosis (PF), according to an announcement to mark National Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness Month in September. Three Lakes Partners will provide funding to PFF to help the foundation reach its goals of…

Processa Pharmaceuticals will explore and further develop the anti-fibrotic, anti-inflammatory compound HT-100 as a potential treatment for rare fibrotic-related diseases in adults, including focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, scleroderma, and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The company announced that it has acquired the exclusive global rights to develop…

Immune cells can sense the mechanical forces at work in the lungs via a gate called PIEZO1, and deleting this gene in immune cells led to worse lung infections, researchers report. But its loss eased the inflammation associated with lung scarring in a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis. Their study…

A protein called GDF15, which is secreted by a type of lung cells, is increased in the lungs and blood of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a study shows. Supported by this finding, researchers believe that GDF15 may serve as a biomarker to help identify people who have…

Rare diseases deeply affect not only the children who experience them, but also their healthy brothers and sisters, as their parents can attest.    Two entries in November’s “Disorder: The Rare Disease Film Festival” will focus on what siblings go through, according to the San Francisco festival’s co-founder,…

Patients who take either Esbriet (pirfenidone, sold by Genentech) or Ofev (nintedanib, by Boehringer Ingelheim) — two anti-fibrotic therapies approved to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis — often experience significant gastrointestinal side effects, a Dutch study shows. The study, “Self-reported Gastrointestinal Side Effects of Antifibrotic Drugs in…

Developing gene therapies for rare diseases is one thing. Creating gene-edited “designer babies” is quite another. German legal expert Timo Minssen outlined the potentially explosive ethical landmines surrounding such issues during a recent talk at the New York Genome Center. Minssen directs the Center for Advanced Studies in…