Fibrosis File
In the News
Samumed has successfully completed a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy individuals to evaluate a potential therapy, a nebulized inhalation solution called SM04646 that treats idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The positive results support its continued development into future studies.
Ofev® (nintedanib) can treat lung fibrosis by correcting abnormalities in the blood vessels of mice, according to a German study. The research suggests that fibrosis, or tissue scarring, and mechanisms in- volved in blood vessel formation interact in the progression of the disease. Tiny blood vessels that are involved in absorbing oxygen from the lungs did not function properly in pulmonary fibrosis. Ofev® helped to correct this. This type of insight is crucial to the development of even better drugs for treating lung fibrosis. To date, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved only two medications: Ofev® and Esbriet® (pirfenidone).
Alternative Chinese Medicine
Pulmonary rehabilitation mixture (PRM), an herbal-based formula used for decades in Chinese traditional medicine, has therapeutic potential against pulmonary fibrosis (PF) progression. The study appeared in the journal, Scientific Reports. PRM, also known as Fei-Fu-Kang, has been used for decades to treat PF and lung cancer. It consists of eight herbs: Astragali Radix, Codonopsis Radix, Ophiopogonis Radix, Schisandrae Chinensis Fructus, Notoginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Fritil- lariae Thunbergii Bulbus, Anemarrhenae Rhizoma and Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhi- zoma. These components have known anti-tumor activity and can stimulate an immune response, among other activities. PRM treatment has also eased lung tissue swelling. Further testing is planned as a therapy for pulmonary fibrosis.
Research has shown traditional Chinese medicine to be helpful for many types of illness. Chinese medicine differs from our medical practices in diagnosis and treatment methods. Each person might receive a different treatment for the same illness depending on the person’s own qi and yin-yang balance. Qi (pronounced “chee”) is energy that flows along pathways in the body. Yin and yang describe how opposite forces are actually interconnected and exist in balance.
Fighting for Liquid Oxygen
The Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) (www.pulmonaryfibrosis.org) has many resources for coping on a daily basis including an online newsletter called Pulmonary Fibrosis News. Recently Kim Frederickson detailed her fight for liquid oxygen. Kim suggests you listen to an audio overview on “Oxygen Equipment” by David J. Lederer, MD, senior medical adviser of the PFF at http://tinyurl.com/ y99yyra6
This interview is an hour long and at the end he explains why liquid oxygen is so hard to obtain, and offers some tips of his own. It is worth a listen. One suggestion he had was to call 1-844-825-5733 or email the PFF ([email protected] org) to see if they can help apply pressure to your provider or insurance company.
Kim says, if you aren’t successful, congratulate yourself for being a proud warrior on your behalf. You may not win this particular battle; but you won a larger, more important battle by advocating and fighting for yourself. You matter, you are valuable, you count, and you are worth the effort!
If you are on oxygen with pulmonary fibrosis, you are likely to need a high liter flow to push the oxygen across your scarred lung into your bloodstream. One of the best ways to deliver this is by liquid oxygen. Unfortunately, we know this is a more expensive means for your home care company to provide and many have simply discontinued it.