Organ transplants are a trade-off. The patient receives a healthy organ or organs, but the price is chronic immunosuppression. The trade-off is made when there are no other treatment options, and only if the transplant is expected to be successful. I can’t tell you how many times I…
The Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mining Safety and Health has granted $750,000 to a project to investigate how silica, coal, and other mining dusts contribute to the development of progressive lung fibrosis. Led by researchers at the Chicago Mining Education and Research (MinER) Center from the…
At some point in our lives, we’re all likely to face difficult decisions. They will force us to weigh out all the options, considering not only the pros and cons of each decision, but also the overall impact on our lives. Before I became sick with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF),…
Lack of tissue oxygenation, also known as hypoxia, is involved in the development and progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a study has found. The findings of the study, “Dysregulated expression of hypoxia-inducible factors augments myofibroblasts differentiation in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,” were published in the journal Respiratory Research.
NP-120, Algernon Pharmaceuticals‘ repurposed lead candidate for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), surpassed two other globally approved therapies — Genentech‘s Esbriet (pirfenidone) and Boehringer Ingelheim‘s Ofev (nintedanib) — in reducing lung tissue scarring (fibrosis) in a mouse model of IPF. Current guidelines…
The Assistance Fund, an independent and charitable foundation, announced that it has launched a new copay assistance program to support people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Also known as TAF, the fund provides financial support to patients and families facing high medical out-of-pocket costs by partly covering co-payments, co-insurance,…
It wasn’t until Gordana Loleska’s son David was 14 years old that doctors in their native North Macedonia diagnosed his kidney, vision, and hearing problems as Alport syndrome. Although she had known for years that something was wrong, the news that David would battle a lifelong rare disease devastated…
A signaling molecule called interleukin-25 (IL-25) was found to support lung fibroblast proliferation and promote lung inflammation and fibrosis in mice, a study shows. The findings suggest that blocking IL-25 may prevent many of the hallmark features of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), representing a new therapeutic target for this…
A pulmonary rehabilitation program lowers the risk of mortality among patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis after lung transplant, as well as reduces their need for ventilation support and the time they spend in the intensive care unit after the procedure, a new study reports. The findings of the study,…
Advocacy and discussions about mental health on social media platforms feel very “trendy” at the moment. It’s a good thing — it is vital that we talk about mental health and raise awareness about the need to care for our minds as well as our bodies. As a patient living…
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