Two weeks after my mom, Holly’s, double-lung transplant, she was discharged from the hospital. Although she was weak, she was walking, talking, eating, and, best of all, breathing on her own. After three months on a ventilator, the transplant brought her back to life.
My Hardest Days as My Mom’s Caregiver
The dry, persistent cough associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is arguably the most difficult symptom of this life-threatening lung disease. Pulmonary fibrosis is defined simply as scarring in the lung, which always is progressive in patients with IPF. Unfortunately, there is nothing simple about this disease, and the scarring…
Failure of organs other than the lungs can be a predictor of mortality risk in people hospitalized due to acute exacerbations of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a study reported. Elevated levels of C-reactive protein, a sign of inflammation, is also a risk factor for in-hospital mortality in these patients.
Scientists created an online cell atlas containing information on the gene activity of more than 300,000 lung cells taken from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The new atlas adds to the knowledge of the complex cellular and molecular mechanisms involved…
Researchers have discovered the existence of unique subtypes of epithelial cells in the lungs of people with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) that may drive tissue scarring, or fibrosis. Their findings were published in the study, “Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals profibrotic roles of distinct epithelial and mesenchymal lineages in pulmonary…
The European Commission has approved Boehringer Ingelheim‘s Ofev (nintedanib) for the treatment of progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) in adults. The approval follows a recent positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), as well as…
As a person living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a chronic respiratory condition characterized by progressive scarring of the lungs and reduced oxygen, I’ve been wearing a mask for years in public places. Learning to wear a mask to protect my now-compromised lungs was difficult for me, so I…
The protein granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) inhibited fibrosis in a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis, a new study shows. The data suggests this effect is driven, in part, by stem cells from the bone marrow being recruited to the lungs. The study, “G-CSF Inhibits Pulmonary…
A new molecular probe could aid in studies of pulmonary fibrosis and other fibrotic diseases, a study reports. The study, “Discovery of a Potent and Selective Covalent Inhibitor and Activity-Based Probe for the Deubiquitylating Enzyme UCHL1, with Antifibrotic Activity,” was published in the Journal of the…
The EveryLife Foundation for Rare Diseases has launched a nationwide National Burden of Rare Disease Survey to measure the full implications, economic and social, of living with rare disease in the United States. People with rare diseases know that the impacts of such conditions extend beyond just medical…
