title: Emerging drugs for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
abstract: Pulmonary fibrosis is often the end stage of chronic, persistent, low-level lung injury, either of known or unknown cause. The most severe form of pulmonary fibrosis is idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a disease process of unknown aetiology and one that often leads to respiratory failure and death. At present there are no proven or effective drug therapies for IPF. Recent advances in understanding of disease pathogenesis have focused attention on drug targeting of fibrogenic pathways, as opposed to traditional anti-inflammatory approaches. In this report, the present status of drug development of a number of emerging antifibrotic strategies and agents that may prove more effective in the therapy of this progressive, debilitating and fatal disease are reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Michigan Medical Center, 6301 MSRB III1150 W. Medical Center Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA. vjt@umich.edu
authors.forename: Victor J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Thannickal
authors.forename: Kevin R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Flaherty
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Hyzy
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Lynch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D015507:Drugs, Investigational / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D011658:Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D015507:Drugs, Investigational