How It Feels To Be Rushed at a Store While Lugging an Oxygen Tank

I am still reflecting on an experience I had last week at the grocery store — one that, unfortunately, is common for other patients, too. Several months after being diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), I began having to lug around supplemental oxygen. My ability to do…

Researchers at two universities in North Carolina have developed a new method to expand stem cells isolated from patient’s lung biopsies. A team led by Dr. Jason Lobo, assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina (UNC), and by Ke Cheng, associate professor in the Department of Molecular…

Recent studies have shown that idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) may be caused by senescence, a cellular aging process. Now, a team of German researchers have successfully counteracted this mechanism in cell culture by using senolytic drugs that are able to kill senescent epithelial lung cells. These findings were reported in a study…

The protein vimentin triggers autoimmune reactions in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and the intensity of the reactions correlates with the severity of the disease, according to a study. The findings underscore scientists’ belief that autoimmunity — the immune system attacking the body’s own cells instead of invaders — plays…

We need to breathe to stay alive. For some of us, the process is simple and we don’t think too much about it. For others, it’s a constant struggle that requires a lot of concentration and effort. For all of us, it’s important we’re aware that there’s a right—and wrong—way…

It’s funny that the older I seem to get, the more I enjoy spending time at home on weekends and completing different tasks around the house to leave everything in good order for the upcoming week. While the heat and humidity were the primary reasons I stayed…

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) held a public meeting in September 2014, where people living with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) were asked about the daily effects of the disease and the therapies that were available to them. MORE: Six pulmonary fibrosis complications One of the main…

Thalidomide — a controversial drug that caused thousands of birth defects throughout Europe in the late 1950s and was more recently approved to treat multiple myeloma — may also in fact prevent pulmonary fibrosis (PF), Chinese researchers say.   Their study, “Anti-inflammation and Antioxidant Effects of Thalidomide on Pulmonary Fibrosis in Mice and…

Being diagnosed with a life-threatening illness shakes you to your core. Not only does it leave you feeling confused, vulnerable, scared, and at times, hopeless, it also leaves your family feeling equally devastated. Then there…

Clinical trials are extremely important in advancing medicine, helping to better understand how diseases begin and their progression, and to ultimately find cures or ways to prevent the disease. Clinical trials for pulmonary fibrosis (PF) are no exception and are necessary to improve treatment for patients. MORE: Seven common symptoms…