Can anyone give me any information on IPF. My father has just been told he has this and we are researching and I really can't find much and what I have isn't good news. If someone out there has this as well or knows more information, please share. I am looking to take him to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, TN. I was told this was an excellent hospital that deals with lung disorders.
Thank you
Angie Wingfield
Kentucky

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis involves scarring or thickening of tissues deep in the lung without a known cause.Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a disease of the lower respiratory tract that damages the air sacs (alveoli) and leads to reduced transfer of oxygen to the blood. It causes widespread scarring of the lung.The condition is believed to result from an inflammatory response to an unknown agent -- "idiopathic" means no cause can be found. The disease occurs most often in people between 50 and 70 years old.Patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis have dry, Velcro-like breath sounds called crackles. Patients with advanced disease may have cyanosis (blueness around the mouth or in the fingernails due to low oxygen).No known cure exists for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Medications such as corticosteroids and cytotoxic drugs may be given to suppress inflammation, but these treatments are usually unsuccessful. Oxygen is given to patients who have low blood oxygen levels.Recently, interferon-gamma-1B has shown some promise in treating this disease, but more research is necessary to demonstrate that this drug is beneficial.Lung transplantation may be indicated for some patients with advanced pulmonary fibrosis.



^^^ Info I found for you , best wishes to your dad.

Hi, my dad has this disease also. Is your dad on oxygen? my dad is on 4 liters. He gets around pretty good but tires easy He also lost alot of weight he weighed 204 and now weighs 162. I don't really know to much about this disease myself and I also looked up info on this disease and still don't really understand it.

Can anyone give me any information on IPF. My father has just been told he has this and we are researching and I really can't find much and what I have isn't good news. If someone out there has this as well or knows more information, please share. I am looking to take him to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville, TN. I was told this was an excellent hospital that deals with lung disorders.
Thank you
Angie Wingfield
Kentucky
Hon, my late husband had this and there is no cure for it. It is usually a longterm disease, lasting several years before its really bad. From what I have learned they can only give you pallative treaments, such as inhalers,breathing treatments,oral meds, etc. I hope they can help your dad in tn. Good luck and God bless you. Also, if he can walk as much as possible and hold off on using oxygen until he absolutely has to, will help.