Pulmonary fibrosi is a condition in which tissue deep in your lungs becomes thick and stiff, or scarred, over time. The development of the scarred tissue is called fibrosis. As the lung tissue becomes thicker, your lungs lose their ability to move oxygen into your bloodstream. As a result, your brain and other organs don't get the oxygen they need.
In some cases, doctors can find out what's causing the fibrosis. But in most cases, they can't find a cause. They call these cases idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). IPF is a serious condition. About 200,000 Americans have it. About 50,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. IPF mostly affects people who are 50 to 75 years of age. IPF varies from person to person. In some people, the lung tissue quickly becomes thick and stiff. In others, the process is much slower. In some people, the condition stays the same for years. IPF has no cure yet. Many people live only about 3 to 5 years after diagnosis. The most common cause of death related to IPF is respiratory failure.
According to a recent study of information from the Veterans Affairs Million Veteran Program, there are genetic correlations between COVID-19 severity and specific medical disorders that are established risk factors for severe COVID-19.
Severe injuries to the lung from diseases such as COVID-19 trigger abnormal stem cell repair that alters the architecture of the lung. The aberrant stem cell differentiation in response to injury can prevent the restoration of normal lung function.
Are prematurely aged or overworked stem cells a significant factor in chronic lung disease? Findings of a study just released in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine (SCTM) say this is likely so.
Single-cell RNA sequencing has revealed a subset of cells that could provide protection from a rare, but severely debilitating and fatal, lung disease.
Researchers propose that similar to pouring water atop a wellhead prior to pumping, the airway cells of patients suffering from chronic lung diseases are “primed” for infection by the COVID-19 virus.
An international team led by researchers of the University of Barcelona builds the smallest and cheapest high-resolution microscope to date.
The lung is a complex organ whose main function is to exchange gases. It is the largest organ in the human body and plays a key role in the oxygenation of all the organs.
Autoimmune disease is fundamentally a mystery: whyever should an organism systematically set out to harm itself? Now, researchers at the University of Tsukuba have identified a genetic basis for anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, an autoimmune systemic disease that damages organs by targeting small blood vessels in a genetic association study.
A pre-clinical study led by scientists at Cincinnati Children's demonstrates that in mice the drug barasertib reverses the activation of fibroblasts that cause dangerous scar tissue to build up in the lungs of people with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
Researchers report that smoking increases the gene expression of ACE2, the protein that binds SARS-CoV-2, which may promote COVID-19 infection.