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…
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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…
Measuring the loss of skeletal muscle mass in the thoracic area using computed tomography (CT) scans may predict clinical outcomes such as survival in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a study. The study, “Thoracic skeletal muscle quantification: low muscle mass is related with worse prognosis…
The Envisia Genomic Classifier, Veracyte‘s genomic test for improved diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), was granted full U.S. coverage by Medicare. The coverage…
Novel selective blockers of the NOX4 enzyme could ease oxidative stress and the subsequent development of fibrosis in lungs and other organs, according to scientists at the University of Arizona. The potential treatments have been licensed to a startup called Fibronox to speed up their development. NOX4, or NADPH…
The Feldman Family Foundation is hosting a pulmonary fibrosis fund-raising event — its 6th Annual Texas Hold ‘Em Tournament and Casino Night — on Saturday (March 2), at the Chevy Chase Country Club in Wheeling, Illinois. The Feldman Family Foundation was founded in 2013 in honor of…
Lung cancer patients with underlying idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) treated with proton radiation therapy live longer than those treated with X-ray irradiation, a study shows. Additionally, fewer occurrences of treatment-related lung complications were reported in proton therapy-treated patients. The study, “Preliminary result of definitive radiotherapy in patients with non-small cell…
