Fibrosis News and Research

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Fibrosis is the growth of fibrous tissue.

Study reveals high prevalence of TB infection among young children

A small study by investigators from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center and Byramjee Jeejeebhoy Government Medical College in India reveals high prevalence of tuberculosis infection among young children, troubling rates of disseminated disease and alarming patterns of drug resistance.

15 Jan 2014

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and herpesvirus saimiri: an interview with Elazar Rabbani, Chief Executive Officer of Enzo

Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition where fibrotic or scarred tissue progressively develops in the lungs. In some cases the particular cause is known but in others it remains unknown and is given the term “idiopathic”.

14 Jan 2014

Forest Laboratories enters into definitive agreement to acquire Aptalis

Forest Laboratories, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Aptalis, a privately held U.S. based specialty Gastrointestinal and Cystic Fibrosis company, for $2.9 billion in cash from its shareholders, including TPG, the global private investment firm. The acquisition, which requires review by anti-trust authorities in the US and Canada, is expected to be accretive to Forest's FY2015 non-GAAP EPS.

8 Jan 2014

AIT initiates Phase II clinical trial of NOxCureCF for patients with cystic fibrosis

Advanced Inhalation Therapies, an Israeli drug development company, announced today that it has begun enrollment in Israel for a multicenter, open label, Phase II clinical trial of NOxCureCF, a respiratory treatment for patients with cystic fibrosis.

8 Jan 2014

FDA OOPD grants orphan drug designation to Alitair's Erdosteine for treatment of bronchiectasis

Alitair Pharmaceuticals, Inc., today announced that the Office of Orphan Products Development of the Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation for its drug candidate, Erdosteine, for the treatment of bronchiectasis. Erdosteine is a mucolytic with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties.

7 Jan 2014

Electromed gets FDA clearance to market next generation SmartVest Airway Clearance System

Electromed, Inc., a global medical device company, today announced it has received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that its next generation SmartVest Airway Clearance System, the model SQL has been cleared to market.

30 Dec 2013

Scientists develop new potential cure for rare eye disease

University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health scientists have developed a potential cure for a rare eye disease, showing for the first time that a drug can repair a birth defect.

22 Dec 2013

Study supports mounting evidence that inflammation may be the cause of chronic rhinosinusitis

Saint Louis University researchers have analyzed the microbiomes of people with chronic rhinosinusitis and healthy volunteers and found evidence that some chronic sinus issues may be the result of inflammation triggered by an immune response to otherwise harmless microorganisms in the sinus membranes.

20 Dec 2013

FibroGen starts patient enrollment in FG-3019 Phase 2 study for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis treatment

FibroGen, Inc., announced today that patient enrollment has started in a new Phase 2 clinical study of FG-3019 in patients who suffer from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

20 Dec 2013

ATS Foundation, American Lung Association to co-fund $80,000 grant to support HPS research

The American Thoracic Society Foundation and the American Lung Association announced today that they are co-funding an $80,000 grant that will support important research into the mechanisms underlying Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, a rare inherited disease which affects a number of organs including the lungs.

19 Dec 2013

UCD Conway Institute researchers identify potential biomarker of idiopathic pulmonary ﬁbrosis

Researchers in UCD Conway Institute have identified a potential biomarker of rapidly progressive pulmonary fibrosis and pinpointed a defective molecular function as a potential therapeutic target.

18 Dec 2013

6MWT wording change could enhance serial utility

Researchers have found that the distance patients cover during the 6-minute walk test depends on the instructions they are given, indicating that changing the current protocol may enhance the accuracy and reproducibility of the test.

13 Dec 2013

HCV antiviral therapy also improves diabetes outcomes

Researchers from Taiwan reveal that antiviral therapy for hepatitis C virus improves kidney and cardiovascular outcomes for patients with diabetes. Results of the study published in Hepatology, a journal of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, show that incidences of kidney disease, stroke, and heart attack were lower in patients treated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin compared to HCV patients not treated with antivirals or diabetic patients not infected with the virus.

12 Dec 2013

Researchers develop new technique to cure human diseases caused by misfolded protein molecules

A team led by a longtime Oregon Health & Science University researcher has demonstrated in mice what could be a revolutionary new technique to cure a wide range of human diseases - from cystic fibrosis to cataracts to Alzheimer's disease - that are caused by "misfolded" protein molecules.

9 Dec 2013

MUC5B protein plays key role in many lung-related ailments

An international team of researchers has zeroed in on a protein that plays a key role in many lung-related ailments, from seasonal coughing and hacking to more serious diseases such as MRSA infections and cystic fibrosis.

9 Dec 2013

Johns Hopkins researchers discover some cases of scleroderma likely to be initiated by cancer

The Scleroderma Research Foundation today reported that researchers at The Johns Hopkins University have discovered that some cases of scleroderma are likely to have been initiated by cancer.

6 Dec 2013

Telomerase inhibiting drug induces morphologic, molecular, clinical remissions in myelofibrosis patients

metelstat, a novel telomerase inhibiting drug, has been found to induce morphologic, molecular and clinical remissions in some patients with myelofibrosis a Mayo Clinic study has found. The results were presented today at the 2013 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in New Orleans.

6 Dec 2013

LabCorp's HCV GenoSure NS3/4 test now available for Q80K polymorphism screening

Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings announced today the immediate availability of an enhanced version of its HCV GenoSure NS3/4, a drug resistance test that screens for the Q80K polymorphism. Q80K is a naturally occurring polymorphism that develops in certain strains of HCV, making the virus less susceptible to Janssen Therapeutics' OLYSIO (simeprevir), which was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of certain adult patients diagnosed with genotype 1chronic hepatitis C.

3 Dec 2013

Oxygen levels play critical role in determining effectiveness of anti-inflammatory drugs

A new research discovery published in the December 2013 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology yields an important clue toward helping curb runaway inflammation. Oxygen levels play a critical role in determining the severity of the inflammatory response and ultimately the effectiveness of anti-inflammatory drugs.