Since being diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) nearly four years ago, I’ve learned a lot about chronic illness communities. Additionally, I’ve learned about the many professional roles that affect patients, families, and caregivers living with chronic illnesses. All of these roles are important in helping those of us…
Patient Advocacy Directors Play a Key Role in Amplifying Patients’ Voices
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) and Celgene, a subsidiary of Bristol-Myers Squibb, are leading a collaboration with the long-term goal of streamlining the development of targeted treatment strategies for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and the identification of disease biomarkers. In the majority of cases, the cause…
Pliant Therapeutics has raised $100 million in Series C financing that will support the clinical development of PLN-74809, a candidate therapy for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), a liver disease characterized by progressive inflammation and fibrosis of the bile ducts. The funding will…
The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is slowly working its way around the world. Along with the spread of this new strain of coronavirus, fear and misinformation have been making the rounds. Since the COVID-19 virus has made its way to the States, the uncertainty and unknowns about the…
Recently, a topic in the Pulmonary Fibrosis News Forums called “fits of cough” caught my attention. Reflecting on the topic brought back vivid memories of my own experience with coughing attacks. Before my single-lung transplant, coughing spells sometimes lingered for up to 45 minutes. It always felt like…
In recognition of Rare Disease Day Feb. 29, Bionews Services launched a social media campaign last month asking patients to describe what makes them rare. Running Feb. 7–29, the #WhatMakesMeRare campaign was aimed at uplifting people with rare diseases by encouraging them to share their stories and perspectives. The…
A large-scale analysis of multiple genome-wide studies has identified three new gene variants — mutations in DNA sequences — associated with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a study reported. Two of these genetic variants are not directly linked to fibrosis,…
Beginning on Feb. 29, Rare Disease Day, chapters from notable scientific books and clinical review articles covering rare disorders will be available free-of-charge from Elsevier. The offer runs through April 30, and aims to supports work by researchers and clinicians into a better understanding of and treatments for rare diseases, as well…
You literally can’t miss it in the news these days — millions (if not billions) of people all over the world are talking about the increasing spread of “the new (novel) Coronavirus.” According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the earliest cases of COVID-19 began in the city of…
Inhaling secretions produced by lung stem cells could be therapeutically beneficial for those with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a preclinical study has suggested. The study, “Inhalation of lung spheroid cell secretome and exosomes promotes lung repair in pulmonary fibrosis,” was published in the journal Nature…
