In the past, I thought anxiety entailed someone feeling upset, worried, or nervous. I thought it was situation-based, meaning something triggered it. And I thought anxiety usually manifested in a physical way that was visible to others, such as crying, shaking, sweating, or fidgeting. The older I get, the…
Noticing Changes Within Myself: Could It Be Anxiety?
PMD Healthcare is creating advisory boards composed of pulmonary fibrosis and cystic fibrosis patients and caregivers. The company, whose services include remote monitoring of patients’ health conditions, is in the midst of recruiting members of both boards. PMD said the purpose of the boards is to gather information and opinions directly…
A rock-painting contest in Las Vegas. A fashion show in New York. A 7,000-meter race around the Washington Monument that’ll coincide with a similar #Racefor7 event in Bengaluru and Mumbai, India. From Athens to Atlanta, from San Diego to Sydney, people across the globe will mark World Rare Disease…
As a PF patient, I love many hobbies that I can no longer do. I miss the normal activities of life that are now too cumbersome or simply wear me out. One of the pastimes I can still enjoy is going to the movies. This is something I…
PBI-4050, Prometic Life Sciences’ lead therapy candidate, works through a dual mechanism to target a newly discovered pathway, involving the receptors GPR40 and GPR84, that is critical to fibrosis development, a study shows. The study, “A Newly Discovered Antifibrotic Pathway Regulated by Two Fatty Acid Receptors:…
If you have read my previous columns, you are likely aware that my life before being diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) was very different than it is now. This is something I often write about because I can’t believe the dramatic transformation from who I was…
An enzyme can start a chain of events that leads to cells involved in tissue scarring reversing their fibrosis-generating activity, British and American researchers have discovered. The study dealt with the enzyme’s effect on myofibroblasts — cells involved in wound healing and inflammatory response. The discovery could lead to new therapies for the lung scarring…
Kadmon’s KD025 slowed the progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and patients’ decline in lung function, a Phase 2 clinical trial shows. The IPF patients in the open-label trial (NCT02688647) had previously been treated with Genentech’s Esbriet (pirfenidone) or Boehringer Ingelheim’s  Ofev (nintedanib) — or had…
Living with a life-threatening illness like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) evokes a plethora of feelings throughout the course of the disease. Some are positive. At times, a patient is content, grateful, or hopeful. Other times, the feelings are negative and a patient could experience anger, fear, guilt, or…
patientMpower, a U.K. digitial healthcare and advocacy company, joined others in voicing disappointment with the recent decision of a British advisory board to restrict the use of Esbriet (pirfenidone) to patients with moderate-to-severe idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). NICE’s final recommendations for Esbriet (marketed by Genentech) and its…
