8 Curious Facts About Lungs

Pulmonary fibrosis is a serious lung condition that causes scarring of the lung tissue, which results in severe breathing difficulty among patients. Breathing is the most important thing your body does; without it, you simply can not live. It’s something you do without even thinking unless you suffer from a…

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals recently began a clinical trial to assess the effect of Ofev (nintedanib) on specific blood biomarkers that may identify greater fibrosis and loss of lung function in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Biomarkers are measurable indicators of some biological state or condition that help predict disease…

MediciNova received a notice of allowance for a new patent covering MN-001 (tipelukast) and MN-002 (a major metabolite of MN-001) for the treatment of fibrosis,  broadly defined as wide-ranging fibrosis or fibrotic diseases, affecting different organs and due to different etiologies, including pulmonary fibrosis. Once issued by the U.S. Patent and…

High levels of  gremlin-1, a protein important in lung and other organ development, promoted a more aggressive fibrotic response in a mouse model of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) upon exposure to silica, suggesting  gremlin-1 as a potential target for IPF therapeutics. The study “Gremlin-1 Overexpression in Mouse Lung Reduces Silica-Induced Lymphocyte Recruitment –…

AdAlta has issued an initial public offering (IPO) on the Australian Stock Exchange to raise AU $10 million (US $7.5 million), to fund clinical studies for AD-114, the company’s leading compound under development for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other fibrotic disease. An (IPO) is the first sale of stock by…

Researchers in Japan identified several risk factors for an acute exacerbation, or sudden disease worsening, in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), including cardiovascular disease and older age, especially in men. The study, “Risk factors for an acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis,“ was published on July 11 in the journal…

A biochemical pathway in the lungs, in which an antioxidant called glutathione (GSH) binds to and changes the nature of specific proteins, may be involved in the development of pulmonary fibrosis, according to researchers at the University of Vermont. The study, “Attenuation of lung fibrosis in mice with a clinically relevant…