Does it seem like time accelerated during November? I’m not sure if it’s because the hours of sunlight are decreasing or because all manner of holiday decorations have suddenly appeared. I recently contributed to the latter by joining staff and volunteers at the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) headquarters…
Honoring donor families by decorating UNOS holiday trees
As my husband Donnie’s diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis (PF) slowly unfolded, I found myself oscillating between anger, sorrow, and disbelief. At the time his symptoms appeared, he was only in his 30s. He had an extremely labor-intensive job, walked over 10,000 steps a day, and was incredibly active. He…
The naturally occurring antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid, or ALA, which protects cells against the toxic effects of iron overload, may help reduce lung damage caused by silica — dust particles often found at construction sites and in mining — in pulmonary fibrosis (PF). That’s according to a study using lab-grown…
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) Summit 2025 began for me with a nonstop flight from Washington, D.C., to Chicago during the longest government shutdown in the history of the U.S. I was resolved to be in Chicago for the summit, so I had backup plans that included taking the…
Treatment with Endeavor Biomedicines’ experimental oral therapy taladegib (ENV-101) improved lung function in people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in a Phase 2a clinical trial, newly published results show. “IPF has devastating effects on lung function, yet patients with this disease lack effective therapeutic options. Our Phase 2a…
Each year, at the 11th minute of the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, a calendar alarm sounds on my phone. It recalls the signing of the armistice that marked the end of World War I in 1918. Originally known as Armistice Day, the…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted orphan drug designation to Calluna Pharma‘s CAL101 as a potential treatment for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). This designation is intended to incentivize the development of treatments for rare diseases that affect fewer than 200,000 people…
“Ready to get that tube out? Sam, are you ready to get that tube out? Are you in any pain? No. Are you ready to breathe on your own?” Those were among the first words I heard as my wife, Susan, sat at my bedside while my care team brought…
Less than a year after my husband, Donnie, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, we decided to take a road trip to the suburbs of Denver to attend a memorial service for a close family friend. His family had invited us to stay for a few days, and we decided…
Blocking caspase-9 — an enzyme involved in programmed cell death, or apoptosis — may halt or reverse tissue scarring in pulmonary fibrosis (PF), according to a new preclinical study. Researchers found elevated levels of caspase-9 in lung tissue from people with PF and in a mouse model of the…
