An experimental drug may
offer a thin ray of hope to people suffering from the rapidly fatal lung
disease known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The compound, currently known only as BIBF
1120 (see structure below
: Vargatef™), seems to slow the disease, decrease exacerbations and improve
quality of life for patients, according to a study funded by the drug's maker,
Boehringer Ingelheim.
"It improves the course of disease and, in my opinion, it's the first drug to significantly ameliorate the really devastating progression of the disease,"
said Dr. Norman Edelman, (chief medical officer for the American
Lung Association, who noted that current treatments for the disease "are
almost desperation attempts. There's very little evidence they work)..."
Authors don't claim [BIBF 1120] is going to reverse the
disease. They claim it's going to slow it down, but even that is a major
factor.
Patients
with IPF usually die within two to three years of diagnosis. While the disease
used to be considered relatively rare, Edelman noted that doctors have been
noticing an uptick in recent ears, especially among older men. Idiopathic
pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) involves a relentless stiffening of the lungs due to
overproduction of collagen, the "cement" that holds lung tissue
together.
