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New Approaches to Modulating Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

  • Immune Deficiency and Dysregulation (DP Huston, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Allergy and Asthma Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Until recently, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has been a devastating and generally fatal disease with no effective therapeutic. New developments in understanding the biology of the disease include a growing consensus that the lesions are mainly composed of cells that originated from resident fibroblasts. New developments in therapeutics include recommendations against several treatment regimes that have been previously used. On a positive note, the orally available drug pirfenidone has been approved for use in IPF in China, Japan, India, and the European Union, but not yet in the United States. Other possibilities for managing IPF include managing gastrointestinal reflux, and limiting excessive salt intake. A variety of potential therapeutics for IPF are in clinical trials; for instance, in a Phase 1b trial, intravenous injections of a recombinant version of the normal human serum protein Serum Amyloid P (SAP, also known as PTX2) improved lung function in IPF patients.

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Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Rachel Sterling, Erica Herzog, and Mark Lupher for helpful comments and corrections to the manuscript.

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Conflict of Interest

Richard H. Gomer is a co-founder of, receives royalties from, and holds stock options in Promedior, a company that is developing SAP as a therapeutic for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He is also a member of the Science Advisory Board for Promedior.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by the author.

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  1. Department of Biology, MS 3474 Texas A&M University, 301 Old Main Drive, College Station, TX, 77843-3474, USA

    Richard H. Gomer

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Gomer, R.H. New Approaches to Modulating Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Curr Allergy Asthma Rep 13, 607–612 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11882-013-0377-5

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