Melting Heat and Humidity Becomes Another Hurdle

Melting Heat and Humidity Becomes Another Hurdle

As summer settles on most of Southern Ontario, Canada, it brings with it our first heat wave. Normally, I love the heat. Even last year, after I received my diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), I didn’t mind the summer months. This year, with significantly reduced lung function,…

Australian IPF Registry Identifies Characteristics, Predictors of Mortality Among Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Patients

Australia’s national registry of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) includes patients of diverse ages, disease severity and co-morbidities, and shows that baseline lung function and GAP (gender, age, physiology) stage are important prognostic markers for mortality. The study, “Baseline characteristics of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: analysis from the…

How to Find Support for Pulmonary Fibrosis

Being diagnosed with a chronic disease like pulmonary fibrosis can often lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness. Even if you have the full support of family and friends, you may feel that they don’t really understand what you’re going through physically and emotionally. MORE: Six pulmonary fibrosis complications Finding support is a…

Yankees Legend Bernie Williams Raises Awareness of IPF to Honor His Dad

New York Yankees legend Bernie Williams is collaborating with Boehringer Ingelheim to raise awareness of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a disease that took the life of his father, Barnabé Williams, in 2001. Williams will participate in the Sin Aliento campaign on Father’s Day, June 18, to encourage those who may have IPF to…

How Essential Oils Can Benefit Chronic Illness Sufferers

The public’s interest in essential oils (EOs) — their uses, benefits, and safety — has been on the rise for several years. The most common means of using EOs is through aromatherapy, which includes having a diffuser in your home and or carrying a personal diffuser with you. You’ll find…

Dealing with the Repercussions of Steroids

In a recent column, I wrote about how I felt and acted much differently than normal. I mentioned that I was grumpy, irritable, quiet, and mad, and I referenced a few things and reasons that left me feeling this way. What I neglected to mention is another…

Lung Therapy Developer Pulmatrix Licenses RespiVert’s Kinase Inhibitor Compounds

Pulmatrix, which develops inhaled therapies for lung diseases, has licensed the kinase inhibitor compounds that RespiVert has created to inhibit enzymes involved in inflammation. “These new compounds will significantly expand what we believe is already an impressive pipeline of [Pulmatrix’s] drug candidates,” Dr. Robert Clarke, Pulmatrix’s CEO, said in a…

5 Ways to Help a Friend With Pulmonary Fibrosis

If you have a friend or family member who has recently been diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) or is living with the condition, you’re probably wondering what you can do to support them. As our columnist Charleen Marshall explains, there will be times when your loved one doesn’t need any help.

PETA Donates Systems for Animal-free Inhalation Tests to Centers in US and Europe

An arm of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is donating equipment that allows for animal-free testing of the effects of inhaled particles on the lungs to select laboratories across the United States and Europe. Valued at more than $400,000, the Vitrocell Systems inhalation device exposes human lung cells to tested materials…

Could Cannabis Help People With Lung Diseases?

There is much talk in medical circles about the use of medical marijuana (or cannabis) for a variety of chronic illnesses, but could it also benefit those living with chronic lung disease? MORE: Seven common symptoms of pulmonary fibrosis Medical marijuana is currently legal in 23 states in the U.S., as…