Swiss Team Identifies Signaling Molecule as Potential Blood Biomarker for IPF

Vanderbilt Team to Study Virus Medication’s Ability to Prevent Lung Tissue Scarring

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center plan a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the virus medication Valcyte’s ability to prevent lung tissue scarring in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients. The trial (NCT02871401) will cover 30 IPF patients who have had cytomegalovirus infections. This type of herpes virus causes mononucleosis.

A Gratitude Miniseries: January 2018

It’s hard to believe that the first month of 2018 has already come to an end. It’s true what they say: The older you get, the faster life seems to speed by. I can certainly attest to that for this month, as it feels like the new year…

How Online Communities Can Support Patients With IPF

When people refer to a “support network” that surrounds someone with a life-threatening illness, you usually think of close friends or family members. In the past, you would rarely think of complete strangers — however, this has certainly changed in recent years. The benefit of belonging to an online support…

Tracleer Increased Survival of Patients with Pulmonary Hypertension Due to IPF, Trial Shows

Actelion Pharmaceuticals’ Tracleer (bosentan) increased the overall survival and reduced the hospitalizations of patients with pulmonary hypertension stemming from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF-PH, a Japanese clinical trial shows. Researchers published their preliminary findings on the ongoing long-term trial in the journal BMC Pulmonary Medicine. The title of the article…

Pulmonary Fibrosis Stories: Ricky Miller

  https://vimeo.com/162782590 In this photograph montage from Jason T. Beck called Celebrating Ricky Miller, we get a glimpse of the life of Ricky from Akron, Ohio, who battled idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic condition that causes scarring in the lung tissue. MORE: Why we shouldn’t stop raising awareness…

My First Visit with the Lung Transplant Team

Last week, I had my first appointment with the lung transplant team at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Last month, I wrote a column about the team’s decision to meet with me. This first appointment went very well, better than expected! Praise God!…

Phelix Receives NIH Grant to Continue Research on Calpain Inhibitors for Pulmonary Fibrosis

Phelix Therapeutics has received a $201,665 National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to continue studying  Calpain-based treatments for tissue-scarring diseases like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and the liver condition nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Doctors need better treatments for scarring — or fibrosis — diseases, Phelix said. Current therapies address some of the inflammation that occurs in these…