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Exposure to silica dust may trigger pulmonary fibrosis (PF) because silica particles block a self-cleansing process used by cells, termed autophagy, which drives cell death in the lungs, a study using both human cells and mice showed.  Researchers say the findings may improve…

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” — Aristotle In today’s healthcare environment, an overwhelming percentage of resources are spent on treating diseases and their associated manifestations. While treatment of disease is an essential part of wellness, there is far more to being healthy than simply not being…

Increased levels of the signaling molecule IFN-gamma in the blood, as well as of other pro-inflammatory proteins and immune-response activators, can contribute to the worsening of acute symptoms in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a study finds. Therefore, assessment of these particular molecules may help predict IPF acute…

Madeline Collin, a 24-year-old activist with Gaucher disease, worries that patients like her will suffer deeply if Britain leaves the European Union (EU), as scheduled, at the end of this month. Collin is an expert on the subject. For her University of Bath dissertation, she analyzed Brexit’s long-term impact…

Linking the small antifibrotic protein interleukin-10 (IL-10) to a hydrogel vehicle allows safe delivery to the lungs of animal models of pulmonary fibrosis. This formulation could be a potential therapy for people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The study, “Hydrogel-based delivery of Il-10 improves treatment of bleomycin-induced lung…

Ofev (nintedanib) may exert its therapeutic benefits by halting the activity of genes that promote proliferation of fibroblasts in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a next-generation sequencing study suggests. The study “Gene Expression Changes Associated with Nintedanib Treatment in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Fibroblasts: A Next-Generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics…

With each new advance in medicine comes ethical dilemmas, from fertility treatments and newborn screening, to vaccinations, gene therapies and euthanasia. But rare diseases and the expensive therapies needed to treat them — particularly in an age of scarce economic resources — almost always entail “tragic choices,” warned Avraham Steinberg,…

The medical advisory board of the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) strongly cautions patients with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) not to receive stem cell or cell-based treatments outside an approved clinical trial. The PFF statement is an update to a first version published in 2015. “We understand that patients are…

Frailty and geriatric conditions, such as incontinence, dizziness, vision impairment, hearing impairment, and falls, are common among older patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a pilot study finds. Recognition of such commonly associated age-related complications may help identify IPF patients at risk of a poorer outcome, researchers suggest. The study,…

Rare diseases affect about 30 million Americans — roughly the same number as those with type 2 diabetes. Yet only 5 percent of the estimated 7,000 rare diseases known to science have cures or treatments approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Raising awareness of those illnesses and highlighting…