‘You’re Having a Pink Day!’

Since being diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), I have crossed paths with many different people with varying responses to my disease. Because I am only 29, I am regularly reminded that being diagnosed with this disease so young is rare and, as a result, people are often…

A gene previously shown to be associated with cancer — called T-cell lymphoma invasion and metastasis 1 (TIAM1) — may be an effective therapeutic target in pulmonary fibrosis (PF), a new study from China suggests. The study reporting the findings, “TIAM1 inhibits lung fibroblast differentiation in pulmonary…

Have you ever been so grateful to be part of a community, either in person or online, while at the same time desperately wishing that community didn’t have to exist? That is the vortex I am stuck in regarding all of the readers who follow my columns through…

As October comes to a close and pink ribbons (the universal sign for breast cancer awareness) start to disappear, it’s hard not to feel as though some diseases take priority when it comes to awareness campaigns. If you ask someone whether or not they know the colour of breast cancer…

Children’s National Health System no longer treats just kids. Its Rare Disease Institute, launched in April 2017, has partnered with the National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) to become the first of many U.S. “centers of excellence” to look after patients with rare diseases, regardless of age. The effort…

A compound called tubastatin inhibits an enzyme-linked cell signaling pathway associated with lung tissue scarring, reducing pulmonary fibrosis, a study reports. The research on the HDAC6 enzyme in laboratory cell cultures and mice was able to identify only part of the mechanism involved in alleviating the scarring, however. The full…

For a patient with a life-threatening illness, there is nothing more difficult than asking others to help you with a task that you were once able to do independently. Having to do this highlights the fact that as a chronic illness progresses, including pulmonary fibrosis (PF), a patient’s physical abilities often regress.

Inhibiting an enzyme called phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase prevented additional lung tissue scarring in a mouse model of pulmonary fibrosis, a study reports. The discovery means scientists might be able to develop a PF therapy by targeting the enzyme, which is involved in metabolism, or transforming food into energy. The enzyme is…

I had an experience last week that reminded me of how I am still adjusting to my changing energy levels. A friend stopped by to visit and we had a nice time catching up. She was here for an hour and a half, and I was sitting…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation to PBI-4050, ProMetic Life Sciences’ potential treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF. Regulators recently approved ProMetic’s Investigational New Drug application for PBI-4050 and the company’s design for pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical trials of the therapy. A pivotal…