Pulmonary fibrosis

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Definition Symptoms Causes Risk factors When to seek medical advice

Tests and diagnosis Complications Treatments and drugs Lifestyle and home remedies

Definition

As different as financier Laurance Rockefeller and the temperamental actor Marlon Brando may have been, they had one thing in common: Both died of pulmonary fibrosis, a generally fatal illness that scars your lungs and ultimately affects your ability to breathe and obtain enough oxygen.

Pulmonary fibrosis is the end stage of interstitial lung disease, a large group of disorders that cause progressive lung scarring. The current thinking is that pulmonary fibrosis begins with repeated injury to the lining of the alveoli, the small air sacs in your lungs. The damage eventually leads to scarring (fibrosis), which stiffens your lungs and makes breathing difficult.

No cure exists for pulmonary fibrosis, and current treatments often fail to slow the progress of the disease or relieve symptoms. A number of new therapies are in clinical trials, however, and researchers hope that better treatments will become available. In the meantime, a lung transplant may be an option for some people with pulmonary fibrosis.

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Symptoms