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Drug Shows Promise Against Deadly Lung Disease
Posted 21 Sep 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 21 – An experimental drug may offer a thin ray of hope to people suffering from the rapidly fatal lung disease known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The compound, currently known only as BIBF 1120, seems to slow the disease, decrease exacerbations and improve quality of life for patients, according to a study funded by the drug's maker, Boehringer Ingelheim, that is published in the Sept. 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "It improves the course of disease and, in my opinion, it's the first drug to significantly ameliorate the really devastating progression of the disease," said Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer for the American Lung Association, who noted that current treatments for the disease "are almost desperation attempts. There's very little evidence they work." "The authors don't claim [BIBF 1120] is going to reverse the disease. They ... Read more
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Virus Unlikely to Advance Deadly Lung Disease: Study
Posted 25 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 25 – Most patients struggling with a progressive and fatal form of lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis do not risk a worsening of their condition as a result of exposure to a viral infection, new research indicates. The finding contradicts prior investigations that had suggested viral infections might rapidly advance disease in patients diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). "The results of this study suggest that the majority of cases of acute exacerbation of IPF are not due to viral infection," study author Dr. Harold Collard, director of the Interstitial Lung Disease Program at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), said in a news release from the American Thoracic Society. Collard and colleagues from the United States, Korea and Japan report their observations online in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the ... Read more
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Viagra May Aid Those With Lung Fibrosis
Posted 18 May 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, May 18 – People with a serious lung disease that causes progressive scarring of the lung tissue might get some relief from sildenafil, the drug used in Viagra, a new study finds. The disease, called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, causes the lungs to become increasingly thick and stiff, reducing the ability to breathe. There's no known cause, and there's little in the way of treatment, researchers say. Most people with the disease live just three to five years after diagnosis. "There are about 150,000 patients in the United States and about 5 million worldwide with the disease," said lead researcher, Dr. David A. Zisman, from the Sansum Clinic in Santa Barbara, Calif. He cited Jerry Lewis, Evel Knievel and Robert Goulet as celebrities who had the disease, which he said has "no proven therapy, except lung transplantation, and survival is quite limited." His research team decided ... Read more
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Genetic Breakthrough Spells Hope for Lung Fibrosis Patients
Posted 8 Jul 2009 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, July 8 – Genes that can help doctors predict when patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis are becoming seriously ill have been identified by U.S. researchers, who said the findings might help keep patients alive until they can get a lung transplant. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a lung-scarring disease that progresses slowly and causes a gradual decline in lung function. There is no cure or effective treatment for IPF, and median survival is about three years. However, some patients experience a more rapid deterioration. "Approximately 10 percent of patients develop an acute phase that in most cases is lethal," senior study author Dr. Naftali Kaminski said in a news release. She is director of the interstitial lung diseases center at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In a study designed to learn more ... Read more
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Drug Found Ineffective Against Lung Disease
Posted 29 Jun 2009 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, June 29 – Treatment with interferon gamma-1b (Ifn-g1b) does not improve survival in people with a fatal lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to a study that was halted early after no benefit to participants was found. Previous research had suggested that Ifn-g1b might benefit people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, particularly those with mild to moderate disease. The new study included 826 people, ages 40 to 79, who lived in Europe and North America. They were given injections of either 200 micrograms of Ifn-g1b (551 people) or a placebo (275) three times a week. After a median of 64 weeks, 15 percent of those in the Ifn-g1b group and 13 percent in the placebo group had died. Symptoms such as flu-like illness, fatigue, fever and chills were more common among those in the Ifn-g1b group than in the placebo group. The two groups had similar rates of ... Read more
Related support groups: Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis