A drop in air pollution due to COVID-19 restrictions has eased overall symptoms for about one in every six people diagnosed with respiratory disorders, a British Lung Foundation (BLF) survey of more than 14,000 people in the U.K. revealed. These findings prompted the Taskforce for Lung Health — a coalition…
People with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) who undergo a bilateral lung transplant may have better postoperative lung function than those receiving single lung transplants, but long-term survival appears to be similar between the two procedures, a review study shows. While these findings may help guide clinicians’ decisions,…
Last week I wrote a column about energy expenditures and how I choose where to invest my energy in the multiple tasks vying for my attention. Unfortunately, since being diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) four years ago, I just can’t give everything the energy I’d like. As a…
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) patients taking antifibrotic therapies Ofev (nintedanib) or Esbriet (pirfenidone) had a mortality risk that was 37% lower than patients not treated with such therapies, a large registry-based study reports. The study, “Survival and Course of Lung Function in the Presence or Absence of Antifibrotic Treatment…
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), an arm of the European Medicines Agency, has recommended the approval of Ofev (nintedanib) for the treatment of progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). This positive opinion follows Ofev’s approval for that same…
Low blood levels of haptoglobin-related protein (HRP), a protein with antioxidant properties, may serve as a biomarker of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a recent study. The data also highlighted that IPF patients show significant changes in the levels of proteins involved in inflammatory and immune responses, as…
When I recall the times that loved ones were in the hospital for extended periods, I can still feel the energy of the waiting rooms. ICU waiting rooms have a particular hum about them, a palpable tension created by people in limbo, including those often too stressed to…
Stem cells derived from the placental amniotic membrane — one of the membranes of the amniotic sac that surrounds a baby while it is still in the womb — have the ability to slow the progression of lung tissue scarring in a mouse model of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF),…
While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic won’t have much of an impact on cash available for new biotech startups, it has begun to cause delays in the development of gene therapies to treat a variety of rare diseases. That’s the consensus of industry experts who spoke in a May 26 webinar…
Learning how to balance personal tasks with my health needs has been a difficult lesson since my diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). It’s something I have not yet mastered. Previously, I sought recommendations from my healthcare team about how to do this better. They encouraged me to think of…
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