Fibrosis News and Research

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Fibrosis is the growth of fibrous tissue.

Research shows licorice root might be effective in fighting antibiotic-resistant infections

A team of scientists from the University of Texas Medical Branch and Shriners Hospitals for Children show how a compound from licorice root (glycyrrhizin from Glycyrrhiza glabra) might be an effective tool in battling life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections resulting from severe burns.

5 Jan 2010

NeoPharm submits IL13-PE38QQR IND for the treatment of IPF

NeoPharm, Inc., announced today that it has filed an investigational new drug application (IND) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for IL13-PE38QQR (IL13-PE) for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF). IPF is the most deadly disease of the lungs in humans with very high morbidity. There is currently no proven effective treatment for the cure of this disease.

5 Jan 2010

Discovery of key process in bacterial infection could lead to new drug targets to prevent infection

Bacteria can swim, propelling themselves through fluids using a whip-like extension called a flaggella. They can also walk, strolling along solid surfaces using little fibrous legs called pili. It is this motility that enable some pathogenic bacteria to establish the infections - such as meningitis - that cause their human hosts to get sick or even die.

4 Jan 2010

FDA grants Priority Review designation for InterMune's NDA for pirfenidone

InterMune, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review and granted Priority Review designation for the company's New Drug Application (NDA) for pirfenidone for the treatment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

4 Jan 2010

WDI utilizes DXA analysis for fitness and weight management programs

Women's Digital Imaging of Ridgewood (WDI), has begun using Dual Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DXA), a technology developed to screen for osteoporosis (bone loss), to measure body fat in patients who want a more accurate method of establishing goals and measuring results for weight management and fitness programs.

4 Jan 2010

CPF reports success in advocacy, research support and awareness of PF

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) calls 2009 a year of success in advocacy, research support and awareness, even in a year plagued by the economic recession. PF is a fatal disease that has no known cause, no FDA-approved treatment, and no cure.

30 Dec 2009

Disinfectants can promote growth of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Using disinfectants could cause bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics as well as the disinfectant itself, according to research published in the January issue of Microbiology.

28 Dec 2009

CPF, ATS and health groups launch campaign to raise awareness on lung health

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF) announced today it is joining with the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and lung health organizations around the globe for 2010: The Year of the Lung, a multi-faceted campaign that aims to raise awareness about the importance of lung health, generate social and political support for preventing and treating lung disease and encouraging increased public and private funding for lung disease research and development.

24 Dec 2009

Researchers identify new method to tackle bacterial infections

Researchers from the University of Groningen have clarified the structure of an enzyme that disturbs the communication processes between bacteria. By doing so they have laid the foundations for a new method of tackling bacterial infections such as cystic fibrosis.

22 Dec 2009

New ways of treating infections identified by researchers at Binghamton University

Researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York, have identified three key regulators required for the formation and development of biofilms. The discovery could lead to new ways of treating chronic infections.

19 Dec 2009

Researchers discover how protein can be controlled and under what circumstances it can go awry

A team of researchers studying the protein that, when defective or absent, causes cystic fibrosis (CF) has made an important discovery about how that protein is normally controlled and under what circumstances it might go awry.

18 Dec 2009

Regulus Therapeutics wins exclusive rights to modulate microRNAs

Regulus Therapeutics Inc., founded by Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that it has obtained exclusive rights from the California Institute of Technology to inventions made in the laboratory of David Baltimore, Ph.D. covering methods and compositions for modulating microRNA-146 and microRNA-155.

18 Dec 2009

NanoBio, GSK partner to develop and commercialize novel cold sore treatment compound

GlaxoSmithKline plc and NanoBio Corporation today announced an exclusive licensing agreement in the United States and Canada for the over-the-counter (OTC) use of NB-001, a novel, patented compound representing the next advance in the treatment of cold sores. Developed by NanoBio, NB-001 provides significant antimicrobial activity against the virus that causes cold sores, herpes labialis.

16 Dec 2009

BUSM Pulmonary Center awarded $1.4M grant to derive stem cells and lung progenitors from lung disease patients

Boston University School of Medicine's (BUSM) Pulmonary Center has received a two-year $1.4 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to derive stem cells and lung progenitors from patients with lung disease.

16 Dec 2009

Carrier screening reduces CF birth rates in northeast Italy

An increase in the number of screened carriers for cystic fibrosis (CF) was associated with a decrease in the number of children born with CF in northeast Italy, according to a study in the December 16 issue of JAMA.

16 Dec 2009

Encouraging results from DAVANAT in combination with chemotherapies and biologics

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that the Brussels Branch of the Ludwig Institute of Cancer Research is testing the ability of DAVANAT® to stop Galectin-3 from blocking the immune system’s action on cancer cells. Peer reviewed studies have demonstrated that Galectin-1 and Galectin-3 induce apoptosis (cell death) in immune system T cells (“Galectins,” Chapter 7, Wiley, 2008).

15 Dec 2009

Findings raise new hope for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

A new study involving data from more than 20,000 individuals has uncovered several DNA sequences linked to impaired pulmonary function. The research, an analysis that combined the results of several smaller studies, provides insight into the mechanisms involved in reaching full lung capacity.

15 Dec 2009

Scientists identify protein switch that helps prevent liver cancer

A team of scientists from the UC San Diego School of Medicine and Osaka University in Japan have identified a protein switch that helps prevent liver damage, including inflammation, fibrosis and cancer. The findings suggest that a better understanding of how the protein, TAK1, works could lead to new insights into the development of liver disease and cancer.

15 Dec 2009

Tel Aviv University researchers unravel the mysteries of DNA packaging

The RNA "spools" that make up DNA in our genes need careful editing, too. Genes are composed of meaningful sequences, called exons, separated by meaningless junk sections called introns.

15 Dec 2009