title: Corticosteroid and immunomodulatory agents in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
abstract: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive pulmonary disease leading to death within a few years of diagnosis despite medical therapy. On the basis of methodologies of the Cochrane collaboration, this overview discusses the evidence for IPF therapy. Good-quality studies on oral corticosteroids, the most common medical therapy in use for IPF, are lacking. A few small studies have been carried out on the efficacy of many non-steroid immunosuppressive agents, and the results have been generally disappointing. The most extensively studied medical therapy, gamma interferon, showed a significant effect in a small randomized study, but its efficacy was not confirmed in a larger randomized-controlled trial. The long-awaited good news for patients affected by this deadly disease, and for their physicians, could come in the near future from large randomized-controlled trials with gamma interferon or other immunomodulatory agents.
authors.affiliation: Section of Respiratory Diseases, Department of Oncology and Haematology, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Luppi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cerri
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Beghè
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Fabbri
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Richeldi
mesh_terms: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents