Learning to live with a chronic illness is the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my young adult life. It’s stressful mentally, financially, socially, and emotionally. That’s in addition to the difficult physical challenges. Sometimes that stress manifests in ways I’m not proud of. Since my diagnosis of idiopathic…
As an IPF Patient, My Mood Sours When People Tell Me to Rest
I have a weight problem. But the bigger problem is that no one believes that I don’t choose to be this way. I’m an overweight, middle-aged woman fighting pulmonary fibrosis (PF) and going through menopause. As such, it takes double the effort to lose weight — especially since…
How many times have you heard someone start a story with “before the pandemic”? It has become a common refrain for the past two-plus years. While my idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and a pandemic don’t make good bedfellows, they joined forces to eliminate one of our passions, travel. Before…
BenevolentAI has identified a new treatment target for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) that will be added to AstraZeneca’s therapeutic discovery portfolio. This is the third IPF target identified by the platform for the biopharmaceutical company following previous discoveries. Another AI-generated target for chronic kidney disease (CKD)…
The treatment candidate RXC007 demonstrated promising efficacy in easing fibrosis, or scarring, in mouse models of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and other scarring-related conditions. In healthy human volunteers participating in a recently-completed Phase 1 trial, RXC007 displayed a good safety and pharmacological profile. Now, Redx Pharma, the company…
While working on today’s column, I considered writing about my birthday on Oct. 4. Then, a topic came to me quite unexpectedly. On Monday, Sept. 26, I had to go to the hospital. Since the pandemic began, I’ve been careful to avoid large crowds in enclosed spaces and to…
Dosing has begun in healthy volunteers in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety and pharmacological properties of LASN01, an experimental therapy for pulmonary fibrosis and other diseases characterized by excessive tissue scarring, or fibrosis. “The initiation of this trial is an important milestone for Lassen and continues…
Bellerophon Therapeutics has gotten the green light to cut by about half the number of patients who may enter REBUILD, its ongoing Phase 3 trial of INOpulse (inhaled nitric oxide) for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension linked to pulmonary fibrosis. The downsizing may help the company complete the…
As a child in elementary school, I once earned the top grade on a project about inspirational people in Canada. I was fascinated by what made them inspirational to others, whether it was a marathon for cancer research by the late Terry Fox or a wheelchair race for disability…
“While walking on the beach yesterday, I realized how I’m feeling about PF, in general, is like the tide. There are times like now that I’m riding the high tide, full of energy about taking on PF activities (hosting PF get-togethers, participating in fundraising walks). Then the water is gone,…
