Skip to main content

Pulmonary fibrosis groups co-sponsor scientific symposium

The Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis (CPF), the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (PFF) and the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome Network (HPS Network) joined forces to co-sponsor Fibrosis Across Organs, a first of its kind scientific symposium exploring the possible common disease pathways of fibrosis in all organ systems, March 8-11, 2012 in Denver.  The event was convened by the American Thoracic Society (ATS).    

Fibrosis can affect the lung, liver, kidney, heart, skin and other areas of the body and claims millions of lives globally.  Most fibrotic diseases are progressive, irreversible and ultimately deadly. These high level discussions, experts believe, will advance the understanding of related fibrotic mechanisms and lead to treatment of fibrotic diseases.  The meeting brought together top scientists, researchers and physicians from academia, clinical practice and industry to identify the shared molecular and physiologic responses operative during tissue injury and repair. More than 60 participants from around the world attended the meeting.
The meeting's objectives were to set the scientific priorities for future investigations in single organ and cross-organ fibrotic disease, assess the currently available experimental models and their relevance to human health and disease and to identify potential promising therapies for pathologic tissue fibrosis, including pulmonary fibrosis (PF) or lung fibrosis and fibrosis that occurs in the heart, liver, kidney and skin. 

"If fibrosis could be cured by determination, this meeting would be the end of (fibrotic) disease," said  Donna Appell, CEO and Founder of the Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome Network.  "It is my hope that this meeting inspires many productive areas in fibrosis research."

The meeting was organized by a group of physicians, academic experts and patient advocates, including the meeting's founders, John Tosi, DDS and his wife, Teresa Barnes who chairs the ATS Public Advisory Roundtable (PAR) and is vice president of the CPF.  Other committee  organizers were Kevin Brown, M.D., a pulmonologist at National Jewish Health;  Dennis E. Doherty, M.D., pulmonologist at University of Kentucky and the  Lexington, Kentucky Veteran's Administration (VA) Medical Centers; and Dolly Kervitsky, RCP, CCRC, an experienced respiratory therapist who is vice president of the PFF.



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ratner's Cheesecake

Here's another recipe from Toby! Thanks Toby......and I'll get the others posted soon! Ratner's Cheesecake and plain cookies Ratner's was a Jewish dairy restaurant in the lower East Side of Manhattan. This recipe, from my disintegrating, no longer in print Ratner's cookbook, is the closest I've ever gotten to reproducing the rich, heavy cheesecake my mother made when I was a kid. It's worth the time it takes to prepare and every last calorie. Dough Can be prepared in advance. Makes enough for two cakes. Can be frozen or used to make cookies – see recipe below. 1 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 cup shortening 1 teaspoon lemon extract 1 cup butter 2 eggs 3 cups sifted cake flour ½ teaspoon salt 2 cups all purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1. In a bowl, combine all ingredients with hands. Refrigerate 3 -4 hours, or preferably overnight. Filling (for...
1 comment
Read more

Some good news about Pirfenidone

Below is a press release from Intermune, the company that makes Pirfenidone. They have essentially reviewed the various clinical trials going on, and decided that Pirfenidone is safe and well tolerated. That would pretty much go along with what we've observed in the HPS community as well. We have a few folks that have been on the drug since the late 90s and continue to do well. Of course, as a journalist, I do have to say consider the source - but at the same time, as someone in a Pirfenidone trial, it's good to know. Results of Comprehensive Safety Analysis of pirfenidone In IPF Patients Presented At European Respiratory Meeting - Analysis shows safety and tolerability of pirfenidone across four clinical trials - VIENNA, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- InterMune, Inc. (Nasdaq: ITMN ) today announced that the results of a comprehensive review of safety data from four clinical studies were presented at the 2009 European Respiratory Society Annual Congress in Vienna, Austria...
Post a Comment
Read more

The next generation with Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome

I'm so behind on posting about the trip to Puerto Rico. Since the episode of Mystery Diagnosis on Hermansky-Pudlak Syndrome ran right after we got home, it's been a little busy. These, however, are my favorite pictures from Puerto Rico. I know, not pretty senery etc - but these little guys and gals inspire me. They are the next generation of folks with HPS, and if we keep up the hard work, they will live better lives because of it. They motivate me.
Post a Comment
Read more