Since the beautiful season of fall has embraced us in southwestern Ontario, so has cold and flu season. Between the seasons changing and the kids going to school, there is an entirely new environment to breed germs, and I am hearing of more and more people catching a…
The Guilt of Being Immune-compromised
Despite the availability of approved antifibrotic treatments for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), many patients in Europe do not receive them, partly due to a lack of awareness by physicians or a preference for a “wait and watch” approach in people with stable or milder disease, a survey reveals. Better education…
Inhibiting an inflammation-promoting enzyme known as sialidase slowed lung tissue scarring in mice with pulmonary fibrosis, a study shows. The research indicated that sialidase inhibitors, such as Tamiflu, could be used to treat idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, or IPF. The underlying causes of fibrosis in diseases such as IPF and asthma are still…
As the seasons slowly change here in Southwestern Ontario and we welcome the beauty of fall, I can’t help but reflect on this past summer. It was filled with some happy memories, but also hard times as my disease progressed and my lungs struggled with the heat and…
With the weather getting colder and the holidays around the corner, many of us are thinking about vacations and traveling. While traveling with a lung disease does require some careful consideration, having a lung disease doesn’t mean that you have to be confined to the house. The…
It would likely come as no surprise to others that patients diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, such as pulmonary fibrosis (PF), have many intense emotions and valid fears associated with their disease. These emotions can manifest themselves in many different ways. For example, even the emotions associated with a positive…
U.S. and Canadian researchers have identified a signaling pathway that promotes lung and skin scarring. Although the study involved mice, the team said the pathway is likely involved in the progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in humans as well. Targeting the pathway may be a way to treat IPF and other fibrotic…
Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) should be part of the treatment plan for any chronic lung disease, including pulmonary fibrosis. It’s a combination of exercise, breathing techniques, diet and education that aims to help give patients a better quality of life and be able to have more control of their symptoms.
The diagnostic potential of the Envisia Genomic Classifier to distinguish idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) from other interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) has once again been demonstrated, this time with data collected in real-world clinical settings. The test, developed by Veracyte, helped improve the accuracy and effectiveness of IPF diagnoses by…
I recently met with someone to talk about palliative care. I’m here to share my experience in hopes it will help you, too. My last column about end-stage PF had thousands of views and LOTS of comments, which shows how important it is to talk about these…
