March 11 was the one-year anniversary of the World Health Organization declaring COVID-19 a pandemic. Since then, I’ve been reflecting. I’ve learned a lot this year about myself and others. The hardships we’ve all faced have shown many of us how resilient and adaptable we can be. Many of…
How COVID-19 Has Shifted People’s Lives and Habits
As anyone affected by a rare disease knows, treating the illness while trying to go about everyday life is an expensive undertaking. But exactly how expensive — in terms of direct and indirect costs across rare disease populations — might still come as a surprise: almost…
The ability of Ofev (nintedanib) to improve lung function in people with progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) is not influenced by their use of immunomodulatory therapies, a study indicates. The study, “Nintedanib and immunomodulatory therapies in progressive fibrosing interstitial lung diseases,” was published in the journal…
Changes for the better in diagnosing idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and managing patients in the U.K. are evident in recent years, a real-world study based on registry data indicates. “Patient registries offer a unique opportunity to collect longitudinal data on uncommon diseases, such as IPF,” the researchers…
Lassen Therapeutics and researchers at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in California will together investigate the role of the immune signaling protein interleukin-11 (IL-11) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), and its potential as a…
Breathing exercises are an important part of pulmonary rehabilitation. These exercises help keep the lungs healthy and uphold the integrity of the muscles we use to breathe. Practicing these when you have pulmonary fibrosis helps your pulmonary system remain strong, which keeps your body healthy for longer and sets…
Exposure to fine particulate air pollutants, such as PM2.5 and nitric oxide (NO), raises the risk for acute flare-ups of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) within a time window of one to two months, according to data from a recent study. The study, “Exposure to PM2.5 is…
After being diagnosed with a life-threatening lung disease like idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), many patients reluctantly accept that their life span will be shortened. Even if we’re lucky enough to receive a lung transplant, it isn’t a cure, and it essentially swaps the management of one chronic illness for another.
My mom, Diana, long hoped to outlive both her mother and grandmother. She accomplished that goal some years ago, and thanks to her single-lung transplant last May, she sets a new record every day. Still, everything feels fleeting. Over…
VeriSIM Life has launched a pharmaceutical subsidiary called PulmoSIM Therapeutics (PulmoSIM) to search for new treatments for rare lung diseases. Using artificial intelligence, PulmoSIM’s goal is to assess which therapies previously approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for certain conditions can be effective for the treatment of…
